Underground Bodybuilding Secrets That Will Shock Your Body into an Explosive Growth Spurt
Copyright 2003 by James P. Jordan All rights reserved. Published by Detailed Health And Fitness Inc.
Warning
The information in this book is intended for healthy people. Anyone with medical problems especially hypertension or vascular disease should consult a physician before starting any exercise or diet program. Any one over forty who hasn’t been exercising should consult a doctor regardless of their state of health. Invariably, if you are out of shape and want to start training please follow the advice of The American Medical Association: “Start slowly and increase the vigour and duration of your program as your fitness improves”.
Introduction
You may have read all the magazines or other mass building programs but still the quest for size has eluded you. What is it that all the popular programs and books are just not telling you?
Is there some kind of underground bodybuilding cult that some lucky initiates find? Are these the guys that get so huge? Yes and no.
There is an underground bodybuilding cult! Basically it’s the guys who take steroids! The underground part you are not told is that most all bodybuilding programs are written by or for guys that take drugs. You are not as pathetic as you may have been made to believe! These programs are murder for the natural trainer! And worse these guys don’t want you to know they take the juice, they want you to think they are genetically superior! Many big name fitness gurus fit this bill!
No need to worry! You have come across a program that is designed and has been proven for natural trainers! Not only is this program designed for truly natural training subjects, it is head and shoulders above any thing on the market for the following reasons: Only training system that gives you a simple mathematical step by step method of training and meal planning. Non biased information. Complete program everything you need to get huge including nutrition, training and recuperation. Everything is backed up scientifically and referenced Tells you the truth. Simple progressive recuperation system that adapts to every individual.
Not only are you about to put on more muscle than you ever have before, what if you could put your body into an explosive growth spurt?
The kind that would actually shock all your friends and family? Do you think your life would be changed forever? Mine has been along with thousands of others that have benefited from this information.
The respect you will get from all your friends never mind the chicks and glory! Wherever you go, it is amazing the change in attitude you will experience from people when you pack some serious ripped mass on your frame! No more waiting in line at clubs or disrespect from drunks! No more being afraid to take off your shirt in the park on a summer’s day! As a matter of fact if you’re like me you will look for the opportunity to show off your new body!
Are You Sure You Want To Follow This Program?
One problem with being huge is that now you will be like the king of the hill! When you go to the bar or out shopping your massive presence will attract and threaten other big guys and smaller guys who will want to test you!
You may find the occasional guy will pick a fight with you to try and prove himself! Do not worry though, in most cases, your new size will make them think twice and in the end women will respect you a lot more if you ignore the idiot!
Let’s get on with it!
This book is a compilation of jealously guarded underground methods. The kind that even those guys that have gotten big may not know. I say this as the methods inside this course are the fastest most effective use of your energy to achieving huge ripped pipes with a narrow healthy waist. And Health is never sacrificed for size! I want you to live long with your impressive new lifestyle without all the aches and pains and degenerative disease!
How This Book Is Formatted
The book is put together starting with hands on practical step by step instruction to get you started immediately. Simply read ahead and you will be taken step by step through a system to prepare you and guide you to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt.
The “how to” is the first section of the book. Any technical stuff or the “why “is the second section of the book. There are many links that go from the first section chapters to the second section to lead you right to the explanation of why what you are doing works.
It has been done this way so that you can get right into the program without having to learn so much you lose motivation. As you grow you can know!
All effort has been made so that you can make change simply and quickly with as little stress as possible. Simply start reading the book and as you go make notes where provided and follow the instructions step by step.
The first lesson is a step by step system for preparing your meal plan to effectively build quality lean muscle mass.
The second lesson is the workout and the third section is about making your muscles grow. The Second section has lots of underground bodybuilding information that has been tested and is proven to work.
A Note about the Title “Underground Secrets’”
The title “underground secret methods“was a natural title for this book because of the material included. Not that what you are about to read is necessarily so secret but in many cases most people do not really know the truth about what works and what doesn’t.
In this industry most people only see what big companies pay big money to get in front of your face! These companies spend lots of and have to recuperate it by selling their products.
For this reason everything is miraculous and the next secret weapon for your growth. Unfortunately it’s hard to get the truth of what really works from an unbiased third party source. This is what this book is. I or Detailed Health And Fitness Inc is not affiliated with any supplement or fitness companies.
All the information here forward is unbiased, and from my experience of twenty years in this industry, the truth of what really works!
Some of this information you may have figured out but I guarantee, a lot of this information will literally be the opposite of what you have been told by the big companies with invested interests in what you are being told (sold).
I know what I am about to reveal is very radically different than what you may have been told. For this reason everything is backed up solidly by creditable non – biased scientific references. There are over three hundred references in the back of this book that verify everything I am about to reveal.
If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. I am not trying to convince you of anything. I am merely doing my best to present the facts as they have presented themselves to me to the best of my ability.
Read with an open mind and be prepared to unlock the power of these secret underground methods to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt!
Section One: Meal Planning To Support An Explosive Growth Spurt!
What to Do in this Section:
1. Take a quick glimpse at the recipes and decide what you like. 2. Photocopy the grocery list and go get your groceries. 3. Prepare your foods ahead of time in bulk quantities. 4. Measure out meal portions according to your requirements calculated on spreadsheet. 5. Learn about What supplements to take and to avoid 6. Stick to Your Diet!
Nutrition is one of the most neglected keys to getting huge. Without proper nutrition you, will like the majority, will fail!
Step One: Focus On Getting Huge!
Everything you do has to be centered on getting huge! With this attitude you can be confident massive results will be yours in no time!
Being disciplined with eating is one of the hardest parts of any program. In order to succeed you must get excited about your eating and nearly obsessed with nutrition. Make a point to become an expert on nutrition. Read all the nutritional info in this manual and The Fat Burning Manual and you will be well on your way! Don’t believe everything you read or hear about nutrition either. There are more myths and lies than there are diet experts!
Step Two: Be Consistent
Getting huge takes consistent eating over time. If you only follow your diet for a few weeks at a time then quit, you will really slow progress down if you gain muscle at all! It is crucial to be consistent! For more on consistency read here.
Step Three: Be Prepared
My eating program depends on being prepared. The most important part of that is having the good food you need, when and where you need it. Regular grocery trips are a must. The following foods are an example of what you need to buy and have on hand every week to ensure success.
Eating like this can be surprisingly affordable! Print off the following list and go to the store and stock your fridge now!
Grocery List for Getting Huge
Complex Carbohydrates Fibrous Vegetables
10 Potatoes 1 pound of peas 2% milk (more carbs than protein) 1 pound of carrots 1 Pound Brown rice 1/2 lb of green bean 3 Pounds of Pasta ¼ lb fresh Spinach 1 pound oatmeal 2 Green peppers 1 Loaf of bread 1 Cucumber Yogurt 1 head broccoli 1 Squash
Fruits Fresh Water Supply 7 grapefruits 7 bananas Frozen Strawberries 18 ounces of Dried Fruit like apricots Raisins
Proteins 15 chicken breasts 3 pounds of ground beef 4 dozen eggs Skim Cottage cheese Ground Turkey red Snapper Roast (optional) Orange Roughy (optional)
Juices Orange Juice Apple juice
Fats Coconut oil MCT Oil Olive Oil Butter
Food Supplements once per Month Egg protein powder or whey protein Skim Milk Powder Brewers Yeast (optional) Vitamin and Minerals Creatine L Glutamine Case of Ensure Plus with extra protein
Step Four: Have your food ready to eat ahead of time
Now that you have the proper food around, the next step to being prepared is to have the food ready to eat and find the time to eat it on your schedule.
You probably do not have access to a kitchen at work so you will be best off to prepare food at night while you are doing other things.
Prepare food for a couple of days in advance. While you are sitting around watching television, bake some potatoes and chicken breasts. You can cook up some vegetables as well.
Go here to check out lots of great mass building recipes!
The Truth about “Meal Replacements”
No matter if you decide to take a meal replacement powder or not, if you want to get huge you need to realise that meal replacements are improperly named!
A meal replacement is a supplement like any other and not a substitute for real food! If you think you are going to get huge eating six meal replacement packs in place of the majority of your meals you are wasting your money and your time!
On the other hand preparing at least four of your meals from real foods then supplementing another two or three meal replacement shakes a day will yield great results!
No matter what though, you have to get good at preparing your food ahead of time so you always have some powerful nutrition ready when you need it! Generally aim to get all your nutritional requirements from real food then add meal replacements as a safe guard. Personally I do not recommend meal replacement drinks as the complex carbohydrates used specifically malto dextrin is a poor energy choice for increasing lean mass with out additional fat. The advantage this program has over other programs is that you can add a lot of lean mass without having to diet down the extra fat in the end.
This gets you to your goal of being muscular and ripped much quicker!
How Much Ahead Of Time to Prepare Certain Foods
Here are some times that you can generally prepare certain foods ahead of time for so that they are fresh and edible!
Food Number of Days Good For Chicken 2 Beef 4 Potatoes 4 Pasta 4 Vegetables 3
How To Make Sure You Can Stick To Your Diet
Prepare ahead to avoid missing meals and getting bored with your food.
You can achieve this by alternating around your foods every week.
A good habit to get into is to sit down before you go shopping with a book of recipes for getting huge (included click here) and plan what meals you are going to eat the upcoming week.
Then go buy your foods and prepare them. You can prevent getting bored of your diet this way and actually really enjoy eating to get huge!
It is also important to make sure you eat foods you enjoy as you will be eating a lot! If you do not enjoy your choice of foods or eat the same thing over and over again it will not be long before you get sick of your meal plan.
This can lead to cheating on your diet and failing to consistently eat for size. Watch out for this!
Here is an example of a daily eating schedule for getting huge. There are many underground secrets in this eating plan which I will explain later. For now see how many times a day I eat and what:
The important rules to remember:
♦ Get in your daily protein intake ♦ If you are to eat simple or starchy carbohydrates do so only early in the day or after you workout. ♦ Eat plenty of fibrous carbohydrates. ♦ Supplement scientifically with coconut oil and MCT’s for extra calories that are healthy, speed up metabolism and do not turn to fat! ♦ Eat every two to three hours. Never wait longer than five hours. ♦ Drink Lots of water! ♦ Never get hungry! Eat before you are hungry again! ♦ Be prepared ahead of time for every meal! ♦ Watch what you eat!
Modified Traditional Sample Eating Plan
Meal One (7am) 1/2 grape fruit 1 kiwi Oatmeal with raisins and milk 4 – 6 Whole Eggs boiled or scrambled cooked in butter 5 grams creatine Vitamins and minerals
Meal Two (9am) 1 chicken breast 1 potato with coconut oil, sea salt, pepper 1 cup peas and carrots with little butter 1 cup milk
Meal Three (11am)
Chocolate Whey Protein Shake ♦ Chocolate Whey Protein sweetened with sucrolose ♦ MCT oil (2 tbsp) ♦ Water
Pre-Workout Supplement (11:45 am) L-glutamine and water (Twenty minutes before workout)
Workout (45minutes to hour long @noon)
Meal Four (Post-Workout carbohydrate loading immediately after workout)
4 egg whites warmed and blended with cold orange juice 1 cup Skim Milk powder 1 kiwi 5 frozen strawberries 2 TBSP MCT oil 10 grams creatine
Meal Five (Forty five minutes after workout @ 1:45pm)
¾ pound of Ground Beef 1 large bowl of salad with mass gaining dressing 1 whole wheat bun 1 cup Green beans
Meal Six (4pm)
Chocolate Whey Protein Shake ♦ Chocolate Whey Protein sweetened with sucrolose or Xylitol ♦ MCT oil (2 tbsp) ♦ Water
Meal Seven (7pm)
Ground beef chilli (in recipe section) Barbequed zucchini and peppers Ginger sauce dressing (see recipes)
Meal Eight (9pm)
1 cup cottage cheese Romaine lettuce with raspberry vinaigrette (see recipes) Carrots
Middle of Night Snack (2am)
1 Can Ensure plus with Extra protein ( quick )
Some More Middle of the Night Suggestions
** Drink lots of pure drinking water spread throughout the day tapering off your intake a few hours before bedtime. Drink lots of water before bed and you can guarantee either dreaming of peeing the bed or being awakened by the uncomfortable feeling of a bladder about to burst!
If you awaken in the middle of the night hungry have a serving of L glutamine and water or a protein drink with MCT’s oil and water. On rare occasion if weight loss is not a problem a piece of fruit at night can help you sleep.
The above eating plan is a modified traditional weight gain meal plan. It is modified to avoid most digestive challenges except for the combination of starches and proteins. It is better than most meal plans on the market and a decent option. But if you choose to use this meal plan monitor your self for the following symptoms:
♦ Nausea. ♦ Bloating in abdominals. ♦ Bad gas and dirty farting that makes people sick. ♦ Gastro reflux or heartburn. ♦ Burping. ♦ Stomach aches.
If you suffer any of the above symptoms, or if you want a substantial advantage while achieving growth you never thought possible, then it is time to get a little more detailed. Specifically with the foods you eat and what foods you combine at each meal.
When shocking your body into an explosive growth spurt, to really blast your gains into the stratosphere and shave a lot of time off of doing it, you need the following underground jealously guarded meal plan!
The Jealously Guarded Secret to Supplying Nutrients for an Explosive Growth Spurt.
For an explosive growth spurt the secret underground meal plan you are about to learn gives the following substantial advantages over any meal plan available you may have read.
• More nutrients absorbed from foods. • Less food required. • Less waste and smaller stools. • Greater energy. • Gaining lean muscle mass and losing fat at the same time is probable. • No abdominal stretching or protruding stomachs. • Allergic reactions less likely. • Increases metabolism. • No digestive discomfort. • Less acidity. • Better health.
This translates into achieving goals you never thought you could, much faster than ever before! For those of you that could never gain mass, now you may be able to while avoiding getting fat! If you have been stuck at a vicious plateau this eating plan may send you on your way to new horizons! The ability to digest more muscle building nutrients from fewer calories can equal gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time!
Enhanced Meal Plan
Here is an example of A Meal Plan for The Most Effective Digestion and nutrient uptake.
Meal One (7am) Fruit platter: grape fruit, oranges, kiwis (Carbohydrates early and eaten separate helps stimulate thyroid,; good time to take creatine) ( toast with coconut oil optional)
Meal Two (9am) Option 1.Two boiled eggs or Spiced Turkey Slices. Option 2. Beef jerky
Meal Three (11am)
Chocolate Whey Protein Shake ♦ Chocolate Whey Protein sweetened with sucrolose ♦ Spring Water ♦ MCT oil (2 tbsp)
Pre-Workout Supplement(11:45 am) L-glutamine and water (Twenty minutes before workout)
Workout (45minutes to hour long @noon)
Meal Four (Post-Workout carbohydrate loading immediately after workout) Raisins Rice Pasta Apple juice or orange juice
Or: Freshly squeezed orange juice not from concentrate mixed in a blender with kiwi, banana, strawberries and carrots (if you are taking creatine this is a good time)
Meal Five (Forty five minutes after workout @ 1:45pm) Whey protein and three hard boiled eggs Carrots Peas MCT oil dressing (2 tbsp)
Meal Six (3pm) Buffalo or Beef Jerky 1 Cup green Beans
Or Suggestion 2
Chocolate Protein Shake Chocolate Whey Protein (no artificial sweeteners) 2 TBSP MCT oil Spring Water Meal Seven (5pm) Ground turkey chilli (in recipe section) Barbequed zucchini and peppers Ginger sauce dressing (see recipes)
Meal Eight (7pm) Halibut or Orange Roughy fish Romaine lettuce with raspberry vinaigrette (see recipes) Carrots Peas Broccoli
Meal Nine (9pm) Spinach salad with Green Goddess Dressing Hard boiled egg or Turkey slices
For Information on why this meal plan works go here! For a full recipes section containing recipes for every meal of the day click here. To calculate portion size for every meal for this plan go here.
Why This Meal Plan Is Great For an Explosive Growth Spurt
When looking over the above meal plan, it may not be apparent why this plan is so powerful over other meal plans for an explosive growth spurt. Following are a few keys to why this system works.
Eating every two hours for up to nine meals per day helps keep nutrients in your body at all times to fuel an explosive growth spurt. Though it is difficult to eat this many times if you can do it you will get much better results. Nutrients are much better absorbed when several smaller portions are eaten instead of four big meals. Never eat less than four meals when getting huge.
Fats are more than twice as high in calories as carbohydrates. It is easier to get in the calories required for fuelling an explosive growth spurt eating fats.
Fats do not retain water like carbohydrates do. High carbohydrate diets can be responsible for water retention which although gives an immediate weight gain, the weight gain is misleading.
Water retention actually makes you look smaller as it washes out all the muscular details. If you want to look like a fat man then go for the huge water retention look.
Carbohydrates are systematically eaten at specific times so that you do not get fat from too much carbohydrate saturating your liver and muscle cells then storing as fat. You receive only the muscle pumping benefits and metabolic benefits.
Foods are combined scientifically to eliminate digestive problems to ensure maximum nutritional uptake for an explosive growth spurt.
Nutrients are eaten at specific times to get the most muscle building benefits from your workouts.
Nutrients are eaten at specific times to ensure loads of energy for body shocking workouts.
Massive amounts of many different varieties of protein are ingested for explosive growth.
Supplements are taken at specific times to get the most benefit.
Very little relying on meal replacements, only good old quality food for its nutritional benefit and metabolic benefits.
If you’re a hard gainer or have had trouble getting huge in the past it is crucial you follow this plan to a “T” including eating every two hours up to nine times per day!
How to Put On That Extra Pound or Two a Week
The time when you do all the growing is not when you train, but when you are sleeping. It is crucial to make sure you always have nutrients available during the night time hours.
A little secret that really helps pack on the mass is to go to the drug store and buy some of those cans of Ensure plus with extra protein. the middle of the night. This is one of the most important times to make sure your body has all the nutrients it requires for massive growth. To avoid putting your body in a starvation / conservatory mode and to ensure you are keeping the growth going when it is most crucial , drink the can of ensure plus without getting out of bed or opening both your eyes!
Then get back to sleep and grow!
What Supplements Are Useful For Accelerating Lean Mass Growth
There are many supplements on the market pushed by large marketing budgets to gullible people all looking for an edge. Following are six supplements recommended to help support an explosive growth spurt.
• Creatine • L Glutamine • MCT’s • Vitamin and minerals including anti oxidants • Protein powder • Greens (health reasons)
A Summary of What Has Been Covered This Far
To summarize what we have covered so far:
• Crucial Elements to Ensure You Succeed like being consistent. • How to prepare ahead of time for convenience, consistency and avoiding boredom or quitting. • A grocery list for weekly shopping trips. • Examples of mass meal plans. • What supplements are really beneficial. • Late night mass secrets for an extra mass building edge.
How to Motivate Yourself to Stick to Your Meal Plan
One of the most effective ways to truly motivate yourself to stick to your meal plan is to take your weight training workouts serious! Something magical happens to your motivation and determination when you get into the gym! No question it takes mental determination to finish each workout to make progress! When you work so hard in the gym you will be twice as motivated to make sure you get the nutrients into your body so that you do not waste that hard effort. Combined with your bodies increased need for nutrients as a result of the growth induced from heavy training, you are more likely to eat well. Stick to your workouts to help stick to your diet!
How to Determine the Quantities of Food You Personally Require For Mass Effectiveness
To determine the quantities of food you personally require to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt you must learn the following basic information about nutrition:
• Learn all the different food types. (Protein, carbs, fats). • Learn what foods belong in each food category. • Learn the best foods to support explosive growth spurts. • Learn how much of each food you need to eat to support an explosive growth spurt!
To understand how this meal plan is put together go here. If you already know the answers to the above or have a pretty good grasp of nutrition then continue to figure out the first food group protein.
Protein Quantities Needed To Support An Explosive Growth Spurt
Our goal here is to figure out protein intake needed to support an explosive growth spurt! Following is a breakdown of the formula used to calculate the amount of protein needed to support an explosive growth spurt. Click here to go to a program that will instantly figure out all your daily meals for you so you can start shocking your body into an explosive growth spurt as soon as possible!
How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Requirement Basis Point
According to the Colgan Institute the average male is 50 % of their lean bodyweight in muscle tissue. I use 55%. To calculate your muscle tissue weight you will need to know what your body fat percentage is.
Find out where you can get this done in your area by either infra red or preferably under water weighing. X-ray technicians now have very accurate methods to determine body fat as well. Step one – Get an accurate measurement of your body fat percentage.
Once you know your body fat percentage figure out how much fat weight you have. You do this by taking your body weight and multiplying it by your body fat percentage.
Step Two – Figure out your fat weight. (Body weight X Body Fat percentage = Body fat weight)
Subtract the amount of Body fat you have from your body weight then you will have your lean body mass. This is different from our end goal of your lean muscle mass weight as this weight includes the weight of your bones, organs and tendons.
Step Three – Calculate your lean body mass. (Body weight – body fat = Lean body mass)
Now take your lean body mass weight and multiply it by 55%if you are male and 35% if you are female. Now you have an accurate weight for muscle tissue.
Step Four – Calculate your lean muscle mass (Males: Lean body mass X 55%. Females: Lean body mass X 35%)
Now that you have an accurate amount of Lean muscle tissue calculate the amount of protein you require to support an explosive growth spurt.
Step Five – Calculate daily protein requirement. (Lean muscle mass X 2.5 grams of protein)
Now you will have an amount of protein you require to eat daily for supporting an explosive growth spurt. Now you need to calculate how much protein to eat per meal so that you can effectively digest all the protein and keep protein abundant in your body throughout a twenty four hour period.
How Much Protein to Eat Per Meal
To calculate the amount of protein you need per meal simply divide your daily requirements by the amount of meals you are eating with protein that day.
The minimum number of protein meals recommended for supporting an explosive growth spurt is 4. When eating only four meals, the protein portion has a high risk of going to waste if exceeding 50 grams per meal. This is the maximum recommended per serving. Eating any more protein at one sitting will most likely not be digested completely digested.
An absolute minimum amount of protein is 25 grams per meal. This way even a woman or a smaller framed male can get in the magical 2.5 grams protein per pound of lean muscle without having to eat an unreasonable number of times!
A Summary of the Steps to Preparing Your Meal Plan
A spreadsheet is provided that will automatically figure out all your caloric needs taking into consideration all the underground secret methods to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt!
Simply go to the spreadsheet by the link provided at the end of this summary and enter your particulars such as weight and body fat percentage. The program will then figure out the following:
Daily calories Daily protein Daily Carbohydrates Daily Fats Calories and grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats per meal
Now all you have to do is:
1. Go to the following lists and read about the approved proteins, fats and carbohydrates. 2. Make choices according to your tastes. 3. Look up the amount of grams or calories of the chosen foods here. 4. Prepare the amounts of the foods you have chosen that the growth spurt nutrition chart recommends as a basis starting point.
You can alternate between different recipes and foods as long as any of the foods you eat are approved foods.
How to Consistently Keep Your Body in an Explosive Growth Spurt
It is important to adjust your meal planning every two weeks to ensure you adjust your caloric intake to accommodate your added muscle mass. The best way to burn extra calories is to have more muscle. A more muscular body will be able to enjoy more calories without getting fat.
At the same time if you do not add extra calories to compensate for your new muscle tissues you will sooner or later hit a plateau as a result of not eating enough.
After two weeks following the training and meal plan weigh yourself and measure body fat:
1. If your weight has increased by two to four pounds and your body fat either stayed the same or decreased leave everything as is.( this is what you want) 2. If your weight decreased add another 800 calories daily until bodyweight stabilises then calculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance daily calories by 125%. 3. If your weight stays the same then add another 500 calories per day until weight stabilises then recalculate your day two calories by multiplying your new maintenance weight by 125%.
Basically the way the spreadsheet works is by figuring out your daily calorie intake for two separate days. Day one and day two.
The spreadsheet also figures out how many calories to eat at each meal as well as how many carbs, fats and proteins to eat and what times to eat them.
Everything is figured out for you. All you have to do is go to the recipes pages and figure out what you want to eat and the portion size for your particular needs.
There are two different calorie days, day one and day two. Simply alternate between the two. After day two eat the day one calorie requirements again.
When adjusting your caloric requirements every two weeks add or subtract the suggested amounts to both days.
Section Two: Underground Training Methods to Shock Your Body into an Explosive Growth Spurt
What to Do In This Phase:
1. Learn how to properly perform weight training exercises To Shock Your Body. 2. Learn The Training Program. 3. Get an exercise journal put together. 4. Learn how to record data properly from each workout. 5. Learn how to interpret the data to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt. 6. Plan your training times during the day so you will never miss workouts. 7. Get in the Gym and Go Hard or Go Home!
Now that you have your meal plan all figured out, the second factor required to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt is the proper weight resistance training! There are lots of training goodies in this plan to ensure you get huge and ripped like nothing you have ever tried before!
This program has been assembled not from theory but from good old hard work transforming many skinny guys. It works! And in some cases when nothing else will!
The following routine assumes you know all the standard exercises for weight/resistance training. If you do not, I recommend purchasing either “Keys to the Inner Universe” by Bill Pearl or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Encyclopaedia of Body Building.” You can log onto Physiquetips.com for a full exercise directory with video of each exercise.
A Crash Course on What you need to know when working Out For Shocking Your Body into Explosive Growth Spurts!
Here is a crash course on some basics for you to get the most out of your workout. It is true that you are just going to the gym to hoist around weights! Basically yes, the more you lift the bigger your muscles grow but it is not so simple! Lifting too much for your current condition can lead to overtraining and no gains what so ever! As a matter of fact this may have already happened to you!
When you are working out you need to consistently push yourself strategically to allow your body to adapt to the increasing stress you are placing on it.
Look at the following flow chart to understand the muscle building process:
Stress muscles (weight training) Æ Recovery (rest + nutrition) = Growth
This flow chart seems pretty simple and is. What makes shocking your body into an explosive growth spurt so tricky is that every person is different!
No two people respond the same to weight training or recover the same. The whole secret to really exploding muscle growth is to figure out your recovery frequency.
Most programs simply prescribe a set structure which does not change but remains the same regardless of your level of fitness. This probably accounts for why most natural training athletes fail.
Your muscles must be fully recovered from your previous workout in order to make your best progress. The amount of time required for you to fully recover increases as your ability to train more intense with heavier weights increases.
So as you get stronger and bigger you will need to figure out how to stress you muscles harder to keep growing. As you train your muscles harder you will require more recovery time as well.
Otherwise as you increase training intensity and weight you need to increase your recovery time.
At a certain point the amount of rest required will not be any greater no matter how heavy and intense you train.
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The Basic Structure
There are two terms you need to know to understand this plan, a phase and a cycle. Once you do you can unleash the power of Explosive growth!
The Four Phase Plan is a training routine made up of several different and unique training routines. Each training routine is a training phase. Each phase has a specific purpose and is designed to compliment the other phases creating a synergistic growth effect.
A cycle is the time it takes to complete one phase. There are three different cycles beginner, intermediate and advanced. Cycles basically determine the number of times you train per week. Start with the beginning training cycle and stick to it until according to your recuperation needs and power progress (as explained below) it is time to advance to the next training cycle.
Training phases are completed every time you complete one training cycle. When the training cycle is completed then you start the next type of training phase.
For example. As a beginner you will train on the schedule determined by the beginning training cycle. You will start with the training phase one. Go to this chart and see that this means that you will train three times per week, every second day and finish off the cycle in one weeks time.
As soon as the cycle is complete you start another cycle of training every second day, three times per week as per cycle one (beginners) but now you are onto training phase two. After you have gone through four different training phases compare your power factor (as explained below how this is done).
If your power factor increased by at least 5 percent then continue with training cycle one. If your power factor does not continue to increase then that is your signal to start training cycle two (intermediate).
At the beginning it is more likely you will have very large percentage increases (20 – 50%) in your power factor. As you become more advanced you will likely be happy with small but consistent increases in power.
This is normal. As you become stronger it is much harder to push your limits. A slight advance is much to praise!! If you are not making smaller advances then move up to the advanced training cycle.
So to summarise, stick with the same training cycle and only progress to the next training cycle as determined by your power factor increases. If your power factor increases start to level out or stop then it is time to go to the next training cycle. Measure power factor by performing one of these exercises every four training phases.
Training phases rotate at the completion of every training cycle. A cycle basically is a “cycle “of each training phase. Hope this is explained thoroughly as though it is a very precise scientific method of monitoring progress; it is not that complex once you get to it!
How to Scientifically Adjust Recovery Time.
In order to gauge your recovery time an accurate method of measuring the intensity and work completed by each muscle is needed. No other program available has this advanced means of mathematically and scientifically adjusting recovery time!
Let’s review physics to accurately measure our muscular output.
There are three units to measure each set:
1. Number of repetitions. 2. Number of sets. 3. Time set is completed measured in minutes from start to finish of the exercise.
Use this data to figure out the power factor. A power factor is a simple calculation adapted from physics. What it figures out is the amount of work done per minute measured in pounds per minute (lbs/min).
The exercise journal here is designed to conveniently record each measurement for each workout.
Let’s look at how to use the data you record from each workout.
For our example Bench Press will be used.
Exercise Set # #Repetitions weight Time Power Bench Press 1 10 200 ½ min 4000 lbs/min Bench Press 2 8 280 ½ min 4480 lbs/min
From the above chart the Power is calculated as follows:
(Number of repetitions) X (Weight Used) = POWER (lbs/ min) Time in minutes
Simply add the power for each set together to get a total per body part.
Simply add all your exercise totals per workout to get a total per workout.
Record your power for the following exercises every four training phases (phase four):
Squats Bench press (Dumbbell Press) Chin Up Calf Raise
The goal is to consistently increase your power factor every two weeks by a few percent. If you are a beginner your power factor will increase very rapidly for the first few months of training.
As you become more advanced more effort and smarts will be required to make gains.
Your power factor increases from the following:
Increasing training weight while completing the same amount of sets and reps in the same amount of time. Increasing the amount of repetitions performed in a set period of time and number of sets. Performing a fixed weight repetitions and sets in less time.
The formula does not apply to rest pause training or gravity principle one where time is increased as a means to increase training intensity.
What a rip off if you held a heavy weight for a longer period of time but when you calculated your power factor the pounds per minute is less!
Very complex mathematics and physics is required to make accurate “guesses” for these types of calculations. It is impossible to calculate an individual’s effort relative to the work being performed.
There are too many variables in the human anatomy from subject to subject that make even attempting to create an accurate universal formula not worth the effort for the extra benefit.
For this reason, to make gauging progress practical for the purpose of gaining muscular size, stick to measuring the recommended exercises only under strict time conditions.
For example when measuring your power factor in bench press, keep your pace similar to previous efforts (consistent speed probably pretty slow if you are using heavy weight). Time to complete the set ideally should be close to the time taken to finish the set you are trying to beat. Focus on increasing the number of repetitions completed with greater training poundage.
When training to shock your body, optimal recovery is needed to support an explosive growth spurt.
How to Recover Between Workouts for an Explosive Growth Spurt
To make optimal recovery between workouts for growth the following must be in place:
1. Lots of nutrients at all times in blood to support muscle repair and growth. 2. Quality sleep / rest 3. Handle stress properly. 4. Healthy body including kidneys, heart, lungs, liver. 5. Optimal hormonal production. 6. Enough time between workouts to recuperate.
Considering items one thru five are all in order, our goal is to properly adjust time between workouts to sustain an explosive growth spurt.
For an explosive growth spurt it is assumed that the more you train (as in experience not length of workouts) the more effective you will be at increasing your intensity. As you increase intensity more rest is required.
The workout program has three rest cycles. The first cycle has less recuperation time and more frequent workouts. As training progress is made, the training frequency is less. For example instead of training every second day like in the first cycle, the second cycle you now train every third day.
Here is a chart outlining training frequency adjustments as you become more advanced in your training.
Weeks to Sessions per Cycle # Fitness Level Frequency complete week cycle Every One Beginner 3 1 Second Day Every third Two intermediate 3 1 day Every fourth Three advanced 2 2 day
As you can see an extra day between training sessions is added as you become a more advanced trainee. As you are able to train more intensely you put more stress on your body. The extra rest time between workouts helps:
Keep Cortisone levels as low as possible to allow your natural anabolic hormones to have greatest growth effects. Gives liver and kidneys time to recuperate to aid in explosive growth. Decreases constant strain on tendons and ligaments from heavy lifting. Gives muscles lots of time to repair and grow huge.
Following are calendars showing the training schedules laid out to easily follow.
Cycle One
Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Week Workout Workout Rest Workout 2 Rest Rest Rest 1 1 3 Week Workout Workout Rest Workout 2 Rest Rest Rest 2 1 3
Cycle Two Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Week Workout Workout Workout Rest Rest Rest Rest 1 1 2 3 Week Workout Workout Workout Rest Rest Rest Rest 2 1 2 3
Cycle Three
Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Week Workout Workout Rest Rest Rest Rest Rest One 1 2 Week Workout Workout Rest Rest Rest Rest Rest Two 3 1 Week Workout Rest Rest Workout 2 Rest Rest Rest Three 3
How to Know Exactly When It’s Time to Get More Recuperation
To monitor your progress and know when to advance to the next training cycle, monitor your power calculations for compound mass building exercises once per every four training phases. (See chart for exercises).
Besides the actual power calculation, compare your increases in power from week to week. As soon as a plateau or tapering off of gradual but constant increases in power occurs, it is time to move to the next training frequency cycle.
For example, you currently train in cycle one. You regularly make increases in power of 12- 15 percent every training phase. Then after calculating your current power factor, less than a 5 percent increase in power was made. This is your scientific means of measurement, your signal to advance to training cycle 2. Once you are in training cycle three rarely will more rest help to increase growth. Remember our goal is to shock your body into explosive muscle growth not just get stronger.
When training plateaus occur in training cycle three, try some of the following techniques to break plateaus:
1. Switch to a high repetition training plan for two weeks. 2. Take a full week or two off from training.(aerobics optional) 3. Increase caloric intake by five hundred calories per day for a week. 4. Cut out any aerobics.
The above techniques assume all these factors are optimal.
Keep in mind that every person is going to progress at different rates. Some people may gradually increase power by four or five percent every four phases consistently. A drop of a percent or two is enough to consider more rest.
For other subjects a regular power factor increase of 10 percent is normal. For these individuals a drop to 5 percent is a signal to move to the next training cycle.
For all subjects more experience will result in power factor increasing more gradual over time. As you become more experienced do not be discouraged with smaller percentage increments of three or four percent.
How to Figure Out Your Power Factor Percentage Increase
To figure out the percentage increase in your power factor, use the following equation:
You will need your last power factor which we will refer to as - Old Number And new power factor calculation which we will refer to as - New Number
New Number – Old Number = Difference In lbs/min in last four phases.)
Difference Divided by Old Number Multiplied by 100 = Percentage Increase in Power (Diff. / Old Power Factor X 100)
Monitor your percentage increase and use it to know exactly how much and when to proceed to the next training frequency cycles.
Underground Secret Training Routines to Shock Your Body into an Explosive Growth Spurt
The next step, now that you understand training frequency and how it is related to muscle growth, is learning how to train to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt.
The Four Phase Plan is a training routine made up of several different and unique training routines. Each training routine is a training phase. Each phase has a specific purpose and is designed to compliment the other phases creating a synergistic growth effect.
Otherwise in simple terms, instead of doing the same program week after week and having heavier weight as your only means of increasing muscle size, The Four Phase Plan systematically alters training stresses on the body every training cycle. After four different training phases you start at the beginning and repeat the cycle.
There are several benefits to The Four Phase Plan over other programs including the twelve week “fast food fitness” agendas.
Instead of following a set plan for twelve weeks and simply increasing the weight and intensity of the exercises performed, there is a variety of productive stresses placed upon your body.
The structure poses a different stimulus on your body every cycle. There are several reasons this translates into an explosive growth spurt:
• Your body is subjected to different stimuli other than just increasing weights and intensity which sooner or later cannot be continued. • Produces optimal results for the natural athlete. • Muscular atrophy is not only dependent on heavy training stimulus. • Muscle gains are achieved with less chance of injuries caused by continuous repetitive motions using very heavy weights. • All three types of muscle fibres are stimulated for maximum growth. • Plateaus are very seldom as the body is continually put under different stress environments. • Continual long term muscle mass gains are much greater. • Less gym time is required than conventional programs. • Variety makes working out more enjoyable and not so monotonous. • Longetivity is easier to sustain by creating a mentally challenging environment. • The break periods gives your body time to grow and to be shocked even more for continuous steady gains when you start up the next training phase. • • Overtraining is very unlikely. • Smaller muscles are trained more frequently to take advantage of their ability to recuperate faster optimizing gains. • All muscles are specialized at all times. • The Four Phase Plan adapts to your specific body requirements enabling optimal results no matter what your body type, training experience, or age. • Organ and kidney stress responsible for slowing down muscle growth is minimal. • The Four Phase Plan is easy and fun to follow!
Here is the outline of the four different phases of the Four Phase Plan:
Phase 1- General Overview
Training Structure: Complete full body workouts to optimize natural growth hormone cycles. Biggest muscles are trained first as more energy is required to fully stimulate the bigger muscles for growth. Calves are the exception to this rule as a lot of energy is needed to stimulate growth in these stubborn muscles.
• Combination of compound exercises with heavier weights and isolation movements’ supersetted. Bench presses, squats, bent rowing and shoulder press are compound movements.
• Warm up each muscle thoroughly before doing working sets.
• Stretch the muscles being worked fully between sets one and two of each different exercise. Hold each stretch for a count to twenty. • Use Gravity Edge Principle One.
Number Of Working Sets: Two of each superset.
Repetition Scheme: 4 to 8 repetitions.
Resistance Protocol: First superset weight set so that a maximum eight repetitions are completed. Second set increase weight to permit four to six repetitions before failure. When your strength increases to complete eight repetitions with second set weight, increase weight to only allow the completion of four to six repetitions the next time you enter the first training phase. Workout Duration: Workouts should last no longer than one hour preferably only 40 minutes.
Workout Pace: Rest two minutes between supersets.
Aerobic Factor: Supersets are utilized to keep the heart rate high and burn more fat during exercise sessions. More work is performed in the short forty five minute training guidelines. • No extra cardiovascular exercise is performed besides the fast paced weight regimen. • Days off are complete days off from all exercise. Do not do any cardio except walking.
Training Frequency: As per cycle you are in.
Benefits: Working the full body this week helps to adjust the nervous system as quickly as possible for maximum gains in size and strength. Full body workouts stimulate growth hormone levels substantially. Full days off lead to recuperation, reduce stress on body thus keeping catabolic (muscle breakdown hormones) low.
Walkthrough Example Of Phase 1: First Workout
Start your first superset with a light warm up set of Leg Curls for twenty five repetitions. Then immediately proceed to Leg Extensions and complete another twenty five repetitions.
Let your breathing be natural do not attempt any forceful inhaling or exhaling. Your body knows best how to get maximum oxygen into your muscles.
With your heart rate up walk around for thirty seconds then stretch your hamstrings by touching your toes for a count of twenty. When stretching work slowly into a position that is fairly intense to hold then begin your twenty counts!
Now perform a hurdlers stretch for each thigh again holding a count of twenty. This adds up to a minute of stretching.
If you feel you need to warm up a little more perform one more warm up superset complete with stretching.
Now you are ready to perform your two working super sets of Leg curls/ Leg extensions. Psyche yourself up and get ready! Adjust the first set weights for both the Leg Extension and Leg Curl machines so at your current strength you can complete eight repetitions with good form. Use Gravity Edge Principle One. Rest for two minutes then get mentally psyched to resume with your last Leg Extension /Leg Curl superset!
Increase the weight to allow 4 to six repetitions at your current strength level before failure.
A small sip of water can be swallowed now, and then keep going. You do not want to rest too much as to cool down between exercises.
Now it is time to move to superset number two, Seated Calf Raise supersetted with Cable Crunches.
Again perform a warm up set of twenty five repetitions of Seated Calf Raises then immediately perform twenty five slow purposeful repetitions of Cable Crunches.
After stand on a raised curb or block with the ball of your foot, your heels hanging over edge. Lower your heels to stretch your calves for a count to twenty.
A good abdominal stretch is to stand up with your hands on your sides’ elbows back. Lean backwards feeling a slight stretch in the abdominal wall. Hold for twenty seconds.
Now again perform your two working sets. Increase your weight with abdominals as well they are similar to any other muscle in that they respond to increased resistance.
Follow the same repetition pattern of one superset of eight repetitions Calf Raises and eight repetitions Cable Crunches. Then complete your last superset of four to six repetitions for each exercise.
Now proceed to Chin Ups supersetted with Incline Smith Machine Press. The first set of both of these exercises is a warm up as both muscles have not been worked out yet.
I prefer to warm up with the Latissimus Pull Down Machine then, for my work sets, proceed to the Chin Ups. If you are a beginner you may do all your sets on the Lat Pull Down Machine instead of doing Chin Ups.
Do your first set of twenty five Chin Ups and then immediately proceed to The Incline Smith Machine Press. Between this super set I like to hang from a Chin Up bar to really stretch my back. Experiment with the angle you are hanging to get a good stretch then start your count to twenty.
Complete your working sets with the required weights that will permit eight good repetitions on the first superset and finally four to six repetitions for the second superset. Keep conscious of having great form and really feeling the muscles being worked! Just like as if your worst critic won’t take his or her eyes off of you! Now proceed to the next superset.
The next superset is Flat Bench Flyes followed immediately by Hanging Shrugs. Perform these exercises following the established pattern stretching the chest between sets by putting your right arm out to the side parallel to the floor and grabbing a pole or workout machine. It doesn’t matter which one as long as it is stable and your arm is parallel. As you are holding the pole, your palm facing forward, push your right chest forward by twisting at the waist. Keep your shoulder and arm stationary, embraced by the pole. You should feel a good stretch in your right chest muscle.
Count to twenty holding a good stretch then repeat with your left side. Perform your two working sets then move to the next superset! Keep up the pace here now remember your goal is to finish this workout in forty five minutes!
Set up the required dumbbells for your Dumbbell Shoulder Press and Lateral Side Raises superset before you start to allow you to continue this superset with less than a three second pause between the two exercise sets of the superset.
You may immediately proceed to your first working set. A warm up set is not required as you have by this time thoroughly warmed up your upper body. After you are done eight beautiful productive repetitions of Shoulder Press, immediately pick up the set of light dumbbells you previously set out weighing ten or fifteen pounds. Perform eight repetitions of Side Laterals.
Again here weight is subjective to your strength. Keep the weight lower and work on good form really feeling the muscle instead of trying to just push heavy weights at any cost!
Rest a minute and complete your last superset performing four to six repetitions of each exercise. Finish your last two super sets of arms and congratulate yourself you are done the hard part!
Look at your watch and record the time it took you to complete your workout. Go and eat your pre prepped post workout meal!
Phase 1: Example Exercise Routine
Workout One: 1 Leg Curl Superset W/ Leg Extensions 2 Seated Calf raise Superset W/ Cable Crunches 3 Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups Superset W/ Incline Smith Machine Press 4 Flat Bench Flyes Superset W/ Hanging Shrugs 5 Scott Shoulder Press Superset W/ Side Dumbbell Laterals 6 Dumbbell Curls Superset W/ Triceps Rope Extensions Behind Head
Workout Two:
1 Squats Superset W/ Hack Squats 2 Standing Calf raise Superset W/ Abdominal Crunches 3 T-Bar Row Superset W/ Bent Over Shrugs 4 30 Degree Incline Smith Press Superset w/ Decline Barbell Press 5 Dumbbell Side Lateral Superset W/ Rear Dumbbell Laterals 6 Preacher Curl Reverse Grip Superset W/ Lying Supine Bench Triceps Curl
Workout Three:
1 Leg Press Superset W/Stiff Legged Dead lift 2 Calf Press on Leg Press Machine Superset W/ Hyperextensions 3 Close Grip Chin Ups Superset W/ Hanging Shrugs 4 Incline Flyes Superset W/ Decline Hammer Strength Press 5 Side Laterals Superset W/ Bent Over Side Laterals 6 Cable Curls Superset W/ Triceps Easy Curl Bar elbows towards head
Training Phase Two– General Overview
Training Structure: Body split into 3 workouts training larger muscles once during the week and smaller muscles up to three times.
• Combination of compound exercises with heavier weights and isolation movements’ supersetted. Bench presses, squats, bent rowing and shoulder press are compound movements.
• Superset two different body parts per workout.
• Warm up each muscle thoroughly before doing working sets.
• Stretch the muscles being worked fully between sets one and two of each different exercise, holding each stretch for a count to twenty.
• Follow Gravity Edge Principle One.
• The combination of body parts trained is designed to reduce strain on tendons and joints as much as possible.
Number of Working Sets: 1 warm up 1 working set each superset.
Repetition Scheme: Low repetitions (4-6) per exercise with five, five second pauses in each rep. One pause for count of five at one third point. Second five second count at halfway point. Third five second count at fully extended position. Fourth Five second count at halfway down position. Last five second count at 2/3 down position just before start point.
Resistance Protocol: Perform each repetition slowly and deliberately as per Gravity Edge Principle One. Pause at three different positions during each repetition. First pause right after start point, second pause at the half way point and third pause at the fully flexed position. At each pause position hold weight stationary for a count to five. Use a weight which you can complete four to six repetitions. When six repetitions can be completed increase the resistance slightly so that four repetitions is a challenge.
Workout Duration: Work out duration is no longer than 45 minutes. Quit at the forty five minute mark whether you are finished or not.
Workout Pace: Two to three minute rest between supersets.
Aerobic Factor: No other cardiovascular work is required or recommended above weight training routine. ♦ Abstain from all cardiovascular activity except walking on days off.
Training Frequency: Determined by what training cycle you are in.
Benefits: Very intense muscle growth stimulated from holding weight in a fixed position. Much better than other static contraction training principles as full range of motion is not neglected.
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Phase 2: Daily Body Part Combinations:
Workout Muscles to Superset One Chest ,Biceps ,Abdominals Two Back ,Triceps Three Legs ,Calves ,Shoulders
Phase Two: Example Workout Routine
Workout One: Chest / Biceps /Abs
1 Incline Hammer Strength Press Superset W/ Dumbbell Curls 2 Dumbbell Press Superset W/ Preacher bench Curls 3 Decline Flyes Superset W/ Reverse Grip Barbell Curls 4 200 Repetitions Abdominal Specialization Program
*Abs- 200 reps 50 reps each of four of the following exercises: Crunches Leg Raises Hyperextensions Rope Crunches Side Bends Sit Ups
Workout Two: Back / Triceps
1 Wide Grip Chin Ups Superset W/ One Arm Triceps Rope Extensions 2 Dumbbell Rows Superset W/ Standing Triceps Press Down 3 Close Grip Pull Downs Superset W/ Triceps Bench Press 4 Bent Over Scapula Shrugs Superset W/ Dumbbell Kickbacks
Workout Three: Legs / Calves / Shoulders Legs
1 Squats Superset W/ Standing Calf Raises 2 Leg Press Superset W/ Calf Presses On Leg Press 3 Seated Leg Curl Superset W/ Seated Calf Raises 4 Leg Extension Superset W/ Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 Dumbbell Side Laterals Superset W/ Rear Dumbbell Laterals
Walkthrough Example Set Phase Two
This is the most gruelling of weeks! Let’s assume we are doing workout one chest biceps. We are going to do the Dumbbell Press Superset W/ Preacher bench Curls. The regimen is the same for every workout superset just different exercises.
Warm up with twenty repetitions of each exercise you are about to perform. In this case a light warm up set of Dumbbell Press followed by a light twenty rep set of Preacher Bench Curls.
If needed do one more warm up set to make sure you feel a little sweat breaking out! The muscles need to be nice and limber for this gruelling underground self torture you are about to perform!
For the work set one set should be enough unless you are not used to training very intensely. For beginners two working sets are recommended.
Prepare with a set of dumbbells that allows you to do about eight to ten repetitions. Prepare ahead and do the same with the preacher bench curls.
Get into position with the dumbbell presses and start to slowly push the dumbbells up towards the ceiling.
As the dumbbells have just started to lift off of your chest stop about one third of the way and hold the dumbbells for a count of five in the stationary position.
Count like a clock …” one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, and five one thousand”. Now continue to press the dumbbells to the ceiling. At the half way point again stop and hold the dumbbells for a count of five… “one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, five one thousand”.
Continue to push the dumbbells to the arms fully extended position with a little bend in the elbows to keep the stress onto the chest. Again hold the dumbbells in stationary position for a count of five… “one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, and five one thousand”.
Continue to descend the dumbbells to the half way down point. Hold the dumbbells stationary again for a count of five … “one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, and five one thousand”.
Continue to lower the dumbbells to the three quarters of the way down position and hold for a count to five…
“One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand, and five one thousand”.
Lower to the start position and start again doing exactly what you have just completed. Do as many reps as you can in this style . The weight you chose at the beginning, if done properly, will allow you to finish between four and six repetitions …with a hell of a struggle!
Immediately after you are done your set go to the Preacher Bench and do four to six repetitions with the same technique for each repetition!
Enjoy your day off!
Phase Three– General Overview: (Option One): Drop Sets
Training Structure: Body split into three workouts training larger muscles once during the week and smaller muscles up to three times. Thoroughly warm up pyramiding your training weights up to your maximum.
Perform working sets. Begin exercises with heavy weights. When no more repetitions can be done weight is dropped to sixty five percent of maximum starting weight. As many repetitions as possible are executed. Repeat the process two more times one at 40 percent of your maximum and the final set at 25 percent of your maximum to total three drop sets. Immediately after drop set another body part is exercised.
Superset two different body parts per workout.
Warm up each muscle thoroughly starting with very light weights then progressing up to your maximum for the working sets.
Stretch the muscles being worked fully between sets one and two of each different exercise. Hold each stretch for a count to twenty.
Use Gravity Edge Principle One for first set of drop set. When you reduce the weight switch to Gravity Edge Principle Two.
Number Of Working Sets: One to two of each drop superset.
Repetition Scheme: Six repetitions to as many as you can do with designated resistance.
Resistance Protocol: Six repetitions with starting weight then drop weight by thirty percent. Do as many repetitions as you can. Drop weight by another forty percent or sixty percent less than your starting weight. For example if your starting weight was one hundred pounds, the second set would be seventy pounds and the last set would be forty pounds.
Workout Duration: Workout duration of no longer than forty five minutes. Quit when you reach the forty five minute mark even if you are not finished your workout.
Workout Pace: Keep heart rate up for duration of workout. Rest for up to a three minutes after drop sets.
Aerobic Factor: No other cardiovascular work is required or recommended above weight training routine. ♦ Abstain from all cardiovascular activity except walking on days off.
Training Frequency: As per training cycle.
Benefits: Gives muscles benefits of high repetition training and heavy weight training at the same time. Stimulates all types of muscle fibres fast, slow and medium twitch. Excellent for explosive growth.
Walk Through Example of Phase 3 Option 1 Drop Set / Superset
Here is an example of the Monday 3 Bench Press/Dumbbell Curl drop set routine. Take note of the structure of this drop set / superset as you will duplicate it for all the exercise combinations shown for this third week. The weights used are for demonstration purposes. You will have to adjust the weights you use according to your own strength levels, either heavier or lighter. The purpose is to choose weights which challenge you to complete the prescribed number of repetitions with substantial effort. Training to failure is not necessary.
Before you begin your first warm up set of Dumbbell Bench Press grab a set of twenty pound dumbbells. Place the dumbbells right next to the bench you have set up for your Dumbbell Press. Now begin the Dumbbell Bench Press using a warm up weight. It is better to be too light than risk straining yourself by choosing too heavy of a weight. Complete fifteen slow repetitions concentrating on stretching and really feeling the muscles you are about to train. Soon as you are done pick up the twenty pound dumbbells and finish off your warm up with fifteen repetitions of Biceps Alternate Dumbbell Curls. For second set of Dumbbell Press use a heavier weight like a pair of 75 pound dumbbells or what ever you can do for eight repetitions. Do not pick anything too heavy. If you were to train to failure with the weight you choose, you should be able to do twelve repetitions. Again immediately follow by another set of Alternate Dumbbell Biceps Curls using a little heavier weight than your first set. Use about sixty percent of your maximum weight for this set of Dumbbell Curls and perform twelve to fifteen slow and bicep conscious repetitions.
By now you should feel a slight sweat break out as your body temperature rises from the last two warm up sets. The next two sets are the ones that count! So go all out! Set 3 (Maximum Weight Set):
Before you begin set three set up all the different weight Dumbbells you are going to require for the drop set. This will ensure you are not allowing your muscles to recuperate by having to grab dumbbells. It is important for maximum effect that you do not rest any more than three seconds between your drop sets! Take a few deep breaths and prepare yourself as the pre set regimen prescribed here. Now begin the Dumbbell Press using a weight that is a challenge for you to finish six repetitions. Focus on good stable form, and go nice and slow using Gravity Edge Principle One. Put down the dumbbells you are using and grab the next lightest set of dumbbells you set out before you started. (About seventy percent the weight of the first dumbbells) Dumbbell Bench Press using these dumbbells for as many repetitions as you can. Apply Gravity Edge Principle Two! When you can do no more, grab the third lightest set of dumbbells which for maximum effect will be about forty to fifty percent of your maximum starting weight. Immediately Dumbbell Bench Press using these dumbbells for as many repetitions as possible again using Gravity Edge Principle Two! It is easy to stop here but do not! Instead take the weights you set out for your Alternate Dumbbell Curls and pound out eight to ten repetitions. The gradual pyramiding up of your weight with the Alternate Dumbbell Curls is now peaked. Go no heavier than this last set. The rest of the sets of Alternate Dumbbell Curls are to be performed with a weight that allows you to finish eight to ten repetitions. At this point your chest will have gotten some rest while you were performing the Alternate Dumbbell Curl Biceps movement. You may rest another thirty seconds to a minute at the most before you start your next and last drop set. For your last set repeat the format of the previous drop set using the same weights. Do your best to duplicate the same amount of repetitions of the former drop set. Use your own discretion as to whether you are in good enough shape to perform another brutal drop set! If you are a seasoned trainer you will benefit from performing two drop sets per each exercise. If you are just beginning or are over forty I recommend stopping after one of these drop set superset routines and proceeding to your next set of exercises. Once you have warmed up with your first exercise it is not necessary or productive to warm up again for each following exercise. Instead start with doing your heaviest weight and perform the two drop sets only! For example following the Monday routine below, after you have performed your first warm up exercise of Dumbbell Bench Press/Alternate Dumbbell Curls and your one or two sets of drop sets, go directly to doing your maximum weight for six repetitions for the Incline Hammer Strength Press. If the gym you train at does not have Hammer Strength equipment, any incline movement like Incline Dumbbell Press will be fine to substitute.
Phase 3 Option 1: Daily Body Part Combinations
Option1
Workout # Muscles to Superset One Chest / Biceps / Abdominals Two Back / Triceps Three Legs / Calves / Shoulders
Option 2 Workout # Muscles to Superset One Chest, Triceps, Front Deltoids, Abdominals Two Back, Biceps, Rear Deltoids Three Legs, Calves, Lower Back, Forearms
For an option two workout program click here
Example Routine for Phase Three (Option One)
Workout 1 Option 1: Chest / Biceps / Abdominals
1 Dumbbell Bench Press Superset W/ Alternate Dumbbell Curls 2 Incline Hammer Strength Press Superset W/ Easy Bar Barbell Curls 3 Incline Or Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes Superset W/ Preacher Curls 4 Decline Barbell Press Superset W/ Abdominal Crunches
Workout 2 Option 1: Back / Triceps
1 Front Lat Pull Downs Superset W/ Triceps Rope Extensions behind Head 2 Dumbbell Rowing Superset W/ Triceps French Curls 3 Close Grip Chin Ups Superset W/ Triceps Kick Backs
Workout 3 Option 1: Legs / Calves / Shoulders
1 Squats Superset W/ Standing Calf Raises 2 Leg Press Superset W/ Calf Presses On Leg Press 3 Seated Leg Curl Superset W/ Seated Calf Raises 4 Leg Extension Superset W/ Machine Shoulder Press 5 Dumbbell Side Laterals Superset W/ Rear Dumbbell Laterals 6 Rotator Cuff Internal Cable Pulls Superset W/ External Cable Pulls
* See performing specialized training on Your Rotator Cuff
Phase 3 Choice Two - General Overview: Giant Supersets
Training Structure: Body split into three workouts training larger muscles once during the week and smaller muscles up to three times. ♦ Superset two exercises for the same body part then repeat the two exercise cycle with as much as a fifty percent reduction in resistance. ♦ Warm up each muscle thoroughly starting with very light weights then progressing up to your maximum for the working sets. ♦ Stretch the muscles being worked fully between sets one and two of each different exercise. Hold each stretch for a count to twenty.
Number of Working Sets: Two Giant sets per each group of exercises.
Repetition Scheme: Six repetitions per set.
Resistance Protocol: The first cycle of the super set is performed with a weight which is a challenge to complete six strict form repetitions. The second cycle of the two exercises supersetted are performed with up to fifty percent less weight.
Workout Duration: Workout duration of no longer than forty five minutes. Quit when you reach the forty five minute mark even if you are not finished your workout.
Workout Pace: Keep heart rate up for duration of workout. Rest for up to a minute and a half after drop sets.
Aerobic Factor: No other cardiovascular work is required or recommended above weight training routine.
♦ Abstain from all cardiovascular activity except walking on days off.
Training Frequency: As Per Workout Cycle
The following routine was inspired by Larry Scott The first ever MR Olympia and creator of many innovative training routines! I highly recommend his book” Loaded Guns.”
Walk Through Example for Phase Three Option Two Giant Super Sets: Chest
Here is an example of Monday 3 Option 2. Set up the Smith Machine with a slight incline on the bench. Putting a forty five pound plate under the side of the bench your head will be on works well. Do a warm up set or two with a light weight. When you load the Smith Machine with weight, use a size of weight plate which will require you to put two plates on each side to load your six repetition weight. This enables you or a partner to strip the weight off the bar quickly to fifty percent of the beginning weight for your second cycle. For example if you can perform six repetitions with one hundred and eighty pounds use two forty five pound plates on each side of the Smith Machine Press to total two plates per side. If you can only do one hundred and forty pounds for six repetitions then load the bar with two thirty five pound dumbbells on each side.
Now go and get two sets of dumbbells. The first set will be of a weight that you can comfortably with immaculate form perform six repetitions with. The second set will be up to fifty percent less weight. I state up to fifty percent less because the weight you choose will vary depending on how good of shape you are in. For this example the first set of dumbbells used will be thirty pounds and the second set of dumbbells will be fifteen pounds. Start by performing six repetitions and only six repetitions slowly with good form of the Incline Smith Machine Presses. Immediately when you have finished doing six repetitions pull the bench backward a little so you have room to perform six repetitions with the thirty pound dumbbells of Dumbbell Flyes. While you are performing the Dumbbell Flyes have your workout partner pull off a forty five pound plate off each side of the Smith Machine Press to total one plate left on each side.
When you have completed six slow, focused, growth inspiring repetitions of Dumbbell Flyes go back and do six more slow repetitions of the Smith Machine Incline Bench Press. No rest between sets except what is honestly required to get into position. Be prepared as to minimize your rest time to be under four seconds. If the weight seems too light a good trick to increase the productivity of the set is to really slow down the repetitions. This more than compensates for the lighter weight and helps you to get a better workout for the muscles you intend to stimulate. When you are finished the six repetitions on The Smith Machine, immediately grab the fifteen pound dumbbells and finish off your last set of Dumbbell Flyes in this hellish test of will! Perform two cycles of this to torture yourself if you have been bad!
Phase 3 Option 2: Daily Body Part Combinations:
Workout # Muscles to Superset 1 Chest / Biceps / Abdominals 2 Back / Triceps 3 Legs / Calves / Shoulders
Option 2 Workout # Muscles to Superset One Chest, Triceps, Front Deltoids, Abdominals Two Back, Biceps, Rear Deltoids Three Legs, Calves, Lower Back, Forearms
Example Routine for Phase Three (Option Two)
Workout 1 Option 2: Chest Biceps Abdominals
1 Incline Smith Press Giant Superset W/ Dumbbell Flyes 2 Decline Hammer Strength Press Giant Superset W/ Cable Flyes 3 Preacher Curls Giant Superset with Concentration Curls 4 240 repetitions Abdominals Specialization Program
Workout 2 Option 2: Back
1 Wide Grip Front Lat Pull Downs Giant Superset W/ T-Bar Rowing 2 Pull Down Machine Shrugs Giant Superset W/ Cable Row Wide Grip 3 Close Grip Lat Pull Downs Giant Superset W/ Cable One Arm Rowing. 4 Seated Calf Raise Giant Superset W/ Calf Press on Leg Press Machine
Workout 3 Option 2: Legs / Shoulders
1 Leg Curl Giant Superset W/ Barbell Squats 2 Leg Press Giant Superset W/ Leg Extensions 3 Stiff Legged Dead Lift Giant Superset W/ Hack Squats 4 Shoulder Press Giant Superset W/ Front Straight Arm Dumbbell Raise 5 Dumbbell Side Laterals Giant Superset W/ Dumbbell Rear Laterals
Week 4 - General Overview: Low Volume, Low Repetitions ( Power Factor Progress Week
Training Structure: Body split into three workouts training larger muscles once during the week and smaller muscles up to three times.
♦ Use heaviest weight you can control and lower slowly for six reps per set.
♦ Superset a minor body part with each power movement.
♦ Perform six repetitions with minor body part.
♦ Apply Gravity Edge Principle Number One .
♦ Warm up thoroughly with at least two light sets for each body part before performing work sets. ♦ Stretch the muscles being worked fully between sets one and two of each different exercise. Hold each stretch for a count to twenty. ♦ Monitor your strength/ power factor. Increase workout volume by increasing weights regularly. ♦ This is the week to measure your power factor. Measure Power Factor ever time you reach this phase then compare it to the last time you measured. By figuring out your percentage increase.
Number of Working Sets: Three straight sets of three to four exercises each workout.
Repetition Scheme: Four To six repetitions for major body parts per set performed slowly and purposefully. Six to eight repetitions per set for minor body parts.
Resistance Protocol: Heaviest weight you can comfortably control prescribed number of repetitions.
Workout Duration: No longer than fifty minutes preferably thirty to forty.
Workout Pace: Rest between sets until heart rate is near normal resting rate or four minutes, whichever comes first.
Aerobic Factor: Low intensity cardio like walking or biking at a leisurely pace only.
Training Frequency: As per training Cycle
Phase Four: Example Training Routine
Workout One: Chest / Biceps / Abs
1 Incline Smith Press Superset W/ Machine Preacher Curls 2 Dumbbell press Superset W/ Alternate Dumbbell Curls 3 Incline Flyes Superset W/ Cable Curls elbows above ears 4 200 Repetitions Abdominal Specialization Program
Workout Two: Back / Triceps
1 Wide Grip Chins Superset W/ Rope Triceps Extensions 2 Cable Rows Superset W/Overhead French Press 3 Close Grip Chins Superset W/Triceps Press Easy Curl Bar 4 Dumbbell Rows Superset W/ Close Grip Triceps Pushdowns
Workout Three: Legs / Calves
1 Stiff Legged Dead lift Superset W/ Leg Press Calf Press 2 Squat Superset W/ Seated Calf Raise 3 Standing Military press Superset W/45 Degree Bench Side Dumbbell Laterals 4 Wide Grip Bent Row Superset W/ Rear Dumbbell Laterals
As you body adapts to the training stress it grows. Following are techniques to know so that you can push your body as much as is beneficial to grow yet not too much so that you over train or injure yourself.
1. Learn proper exercise form. Read these detailed walkthroughs to help you get the most out of every repetition. 2. There are three variables to adjusting resistance. The number of repetitions, the amount of weight used and the time you take to complete each set. (This is simplified as it gets quite complicated when dealing with acceleration, negative training and other high intensity techniques like rest pause training.) For your workout be prepared to measure all three including the time to complete each set. 3. For timing each set, learn to control the speed of each repetition. Learn training techniques concerning lifting speed of each repetition here. 4. Warm up well by performing a light set of each exercise before training heavy. 5. Know how to stretch each body part you are training. Stretch after your first set of every exercise. 6. Schedule your workouts so that you do not miss them.
Section Three –Underground Nutrient Timing Strategies for Even More Muscle Growth
You can train to shock your body into an explosive growth spurt and fuel your body with a very effective eating plan, now let’s put another powerful piece into the puzzle – timing.
Strategically eating the right combinations of nutrients at the ideal times around your training is a crucial underground step to achieving truly explosive growth spurts!
Eating the right types of foods in the right amounts and at the right times is the winning combination of variables to unlocking a very powerful meal plan.
How To Time Your Protein Intake With Your Training To Maximize Lean Muscle Growth
Only a fool wouldn’t want to get as much out of their hellish workouts as possible! After all by systematically increasing your workout intensity week by week, soon you will be pushing more iron in less time than you ever have in your life!
Fool or not, most trainees just do not know about this simple yet extremely powerful edge.
Eating at specific times can make a substantial difference in your results! Eating the right foods at specific times relative to your workout can increase your progress enormously! The majority of programs have an idea about this but attempt it absolutely backwards! Most programs recommend carbohydrates before you train for energy and protein after you train to repair muscle tissue.
Underground Nutrient Timing Strategy One: Do Not Eat For Two Hours Before Your Workout.
The first step to substantially increasing your training effectiveness comes by not eating for two hours before training. Digestion is highly taxing on your heart because increased levels of blood are required to digest food in your stomach. This combined with the blood required to pump up your muscles creates a double whammy stress that is non productive and more importantly unhealthy.
By having a stomach empty of solid foods before training your body can completely focus on the task of gorging the muscles you train. Not only will you get a much better pump, but most subjects report greater energy levels translating into a more productive workout!
A light protein drink an hour before your workout is recommended for maximum growth. This keeps blood nitrogen (protein) levels positive after the workout is completed as the small portion of protein should be assimilated by this time.
Underground Nutrient Timing Strategy Two: Explode Muscle Growth with L- Glutamine before Your Workout
A half hour before you workout, eat a serving of ten grams of l - glutamine with some straight water. Take the l-glutamine before you workout so that it has absorbed into your blood stream by the start to middle of the workout. The l- glutamine combined with the protein drink helps to inhibit the wasting away of muscle tissue by retaining a positive nitrogen balance in the body until your next serving of protein enters your blood stream.
Underground Nutrient Timing Strategy Three: Drinking Water for Maximum Workout Strength
It is crucial to drink half of your daily water intake stopping an hour before you are scheduled to workout. Dehydration will seriously sap your strength as well as your recuperation so make sure you continue to drink a lot of water during the rest of the day until an hour before bed. Too much water before bed is not the greatest for a solid uninterrupted sleep unless of course you like to pee while you’re sleeping!
Underground Nutrient Timing Strategy Four: Post Workout Carbohydrates
Eating immediately after training, no longer than forty five minutes, the right type of nutrients has an enormous impact on gaining lean muscular weight.
Right after intense weight training, muscle cells are starving for replenishment. The prime fuel source for anaerobic activity is glycogen and after intense weight training studies have shown a nutrient partitioning effect takes place. Starving muscle cells suck up glycogen like a sponge loading and forcing it in much greater quantities than usual.
Take advantage of this by drinking a liquid source of simple carbohydrates like a pop or a carbohydrate drink! This is an excellent time to satisfy your cravings for simple sugars and actually benefit from it! Your bodies’ insulin response to eating the simple sugars will partition the simple sugars very effectively into the muscle cells instead of fat cells when over eating carbohydrates. You can not only get away with eating more, it is beneficial for muscle growth to do so.
A Jealously Guarded Plateau Breaking Post Workout Tip
To Increase Fat Loss and Accelerate Muscle Building Alternate Between “Training For Max Fat Loss” Days and “Training For Max Muscle” Days On The Pre / Post Workout Eating Schedule.
95% of people start a diet and for the first few weeks to a month later everything seems to be working fine! Then things change! Progress comes to a halt and after a few unproductive weeks so does your will to continue to diet! So what do you do when your fat loss routine isn’t losing fat? Well The Detailed Dieter never has this fate because of a jealously guarded secret! Alternating between the two eating plans on the Pre / Post Workout Schedule Below! The usual halt in fat loss caused by a negative fixed calorie diet plan is avoided as a result of giving the body the overload shock of calories after the workout. Muscle growth is fueled from the carb load which is much more effective after intense weight training! The chances of the excess calories storing as fat are low as hungry muscle cells suck up every last carbohydrate! Give them what they want and prevent your body from rationing its food supplies at the same time! Spells increased muscle and accelerated fat loss!
Pre / Post Workout Eating Schedules
Time Training For Max Muscle Train For Max Fat Loss 1 hour Before Protein/coconut oil/ fibres Protein /coconut oil/fibres Workout 15 minutes Before L – glutamine L – glutamine Workout
During Workout Water only Water only
15 minutes After carbohydrates (simple) Protein/ fibres/coconut oil 1 hour After Protein/ fibres/coconut oil Protein/ fibres/coconut oil
For Maximum Results Eat Carbohydrates Only After You Workout.
The common misconception is to eat carbohydrates before you train for energy and protein /carbohydrates after. ♦ It is too soon before the workout to have an energy boosting benefit as the liver has to convert the carbohydrates to glycogen for energy. ♦ It takes energy to digest the carbohydrates and store them for fuel. ♦ The consumption of carbohydrates releases serotonin which may make you sleepy and not feel like working out. ♦ Protein is required immediately after working out for maximum nitrogen retention in the muscles. Eating protein before the workout is the ideal time to achieve this. ♦ Combining protein and carbohydrates is difficult for your body to digest and effectively assimilate either. ♦ High blood glycogen levels have been shown to reduce the secretion of natural growth hormones from the pituitary.
How To Get The Most Natural HGH Secretion For Your Genetics
One of the best natural ways to get the most natural HGH secretions for your genetics is to workout at a high intensity for periods no longer than 45 minutes. This is according to the Bulgarians Olympic power lifting studies. I personally believe you should be monitoring your affected muscles for the amount of blood gorging they have. The higher your testosterone and growth hormone levels, considering your diet and rest is optimal as well, you will be able to maintain a pump for longer. You will also have a fuller pump! Cardiovascular health is crucial to saturate the blood capillaries with oxygen. Start with the goal of finishing your workouts around the forty five minute mark. If you feel that you lose your pump before this time is up, then before you completely lose your pump, quit to keep as much of the pump for as long as possible.
On the other hand if you still have a good pump at the end of the forty five minute period I suggest you keep pushing yourself until you feel your pump starting to subside. This way you can get the most amount of growth without overtraining in the least amount of time possible.
Pushing yourself after your pump has subsided is a double edged sword cutting your progress in half!
Summary
♦ Eat extra protein before working out preferably an hour earlier. ♦ Never work out on a full stomach. ♦ Eat simple Carbohydrates after your workouts to enhance muscle glycogen loading. ♦ Drink lots of water. Your workout strength and recuperation will suffer if you are dehydrated. ♦ Never let more than an hour and a half pass after a workout without eating. ♦ You can maximize your growth phases by increasing protein intake and supplementing with L Glutamine.
Section Four: Underground Body Fuels
What Types, When and How Much To Eat
No Fire without Fuel…
The eating pattern that will be discussed in this chapter can gain muscle and keep you lean at the same time. It is very easy to follow and the chances of getting fat are next to impossible when followed with perseverance!
You may be eating over your energy expenditure levels but this is not important as long as you eat the right foods. What is important is that you are getting the nutrients required to gain muscle. The difference between this diet and any other diet to my knowledge is the use of proper saturated fats.
There are eight types of fuel for you to choose from:
♦ Essential fats ♦ Fibrous carbohydrates ♦ Monosaturated fats ♦ Polysaturated fats ♦ Starchy complex carbohydrates ♦ Starchy simple carbohydrates ♦ Simple carbohydrates ♦ Saturated fats ♦ Medium chain triglycerides( MCT’s)
These eight types of fuel can be generally grouped into the following:
♦ Unsaturated fats ♦ Saturated fats ♦ Carbohydrates
It is important to get a good handle of what types of foods belong in each category. This way once you know the basic structure of this diet the chances of error or eating the wrong types of food for energy will be greatly reduced. This translates into gaining more muscle and losing more fat! Let’s go through the types of fuel and list what foods belong in each category:
1.) Unsaturated fats
An unsaturated fat is a fat cell that has some of the hydrogen atoms removed thus the name “unsaturated”. This makes the structure susceptible to attacks by free radicals. Free radicals do sound a little frightening and intimidating especially if you do not know what they are!
Let’s state a few general qualities of Free radicals:
♦ Free radicals are damaging residues of oxygen every breath you take. ♦ Free radicals cause oxidation in your body. ♦ The browning of an apple is a form of oxidation. ♦ Exercise, stress, work, tension, etc., all increase free radicals because they increase oxygen in your body. ♦ Air pollution and other chemicals produce more free radicals. ♦ Free radicals are responsible for aging and degenerative disease.
Unsaturated oils create an atmosphere which is a catalyst for the damage that free radicals have on our bodies. Otherwise the damage of free radicals is increased by the ingestion of unsaturated fats!
As well these oils become rancid from the exposure to oxygen in our bodies exactly the same as they do if left out in the open. To verify this think about the storing conditions suggested by the retailers of oils like flax oil and other essential oils:
♦ Unsaturated oils go rancid and degrade from exposure to light. That is why these products are sold in black plastic containers and dark glass bottles. ♦ Unsaturated oils go rancid at room temperature which is far cooler than your body core temperature. Just think what happens when you eat the stuff… ♦ It is recommended not to cook or heat up most essential oils like flax. This is because the unsaturated molecules are unstable.
All polyunsaturated fats, Monosaturated fats and essential fats are unsaturated.
Some examples of unsaturated fats are:
♦ Soybean oil ♦ Safflower oil ♦ Canola oil ♦ Corn ♦ Safflower oil ♦ Sesame oil ♦ Sunflower oil ♦ Soy ♦ Mayonnaise ♦ Almond oil ♦ Flax oil ♦ Hemp oil ♦ Salmon ♦ Herring ♦ Mackerel ♦ Sardines ♦ Bluefish ♦ Tuna ♦ pumpkin seed oil ♦ Borage seed oil ♦ Hemp seed oil ♦ Olive oil ♦ Avocado ♦ Peanuts
All oils that are NOT saturated are unsaturated! Now if you have been following the health industry, this information is probably very shocking and hard to believe information!
The reason I found myself researching this further is from a lack of results from essential oils. I wanted to believe and from all the literature that I had read pushed essential oils on my clients just like many others.
For a period of nearly ten years I had used essential oils on many people and tried to see the results but really I have to say that if there were any positive effects they were so subtle that it is negligible! And it has to be taken into consideration that I was expecting to see results and believed that there would be. I know I will be challenged on this point so I have made sure to reference everything and be very careful with what I say.
Let’s look at some general concerns with unsaturated fats:
a.) Do People Not Require Essential Fatty Acids?
These fats have been called essential because according to some studies your body cannot produce these fats on its own. Therefore in order for your body to get these oils you must eat them.
You will notice that I said “according to some studies”. This is because according to other studies, which are rarely for some reason referenced in the health or fitness industry in North America, humans and hogs do not require essential fatty acids!(1) Let’s look at the history of unsaturated fats. Some unsaturated oils were used in the painting industry for oil based paints and varnishes. With advances in water based paint oil based industrial paint products became obsolete. With literally hundreds of millions of dollars being lost the oil industry turned to selling their oils to the health retail sector! It is much better to use these products for painting than to eat! And even for painting they are obsolete!
From the little amounts of essential oils ingested in the North American diet as well as other cultures, it does not seem probable that essential oils could actually be essential. Wouldn’t the repercussions be much greater to our society? Especially when it is being touted that these oils are essential for healthy brain and liver function! Following is a quote I found very relevant:
“Essential fatty acids (EFA) are, according to the textbooks, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, and they are supposed to have the status of "vitamins," which must be taken in the diet to make life possible. However, we are able to synthesize our own unsaturated fats when we don't eat the "EFA," so they are not "essential." The term thus appears to be a misnomer. [M. E. Hanke, "Biochemistry,” Encyclopedia. Brit. Book of the Year, 1948.] b.) Criticism Of The Early Studies Promoting Unsaturated Fats (2)
Early studies which concluded the bodies need for essential fats showed that the symptoms caused by the lack of these oils could have also been caused by a vitamin B6 and/or biotin deficiency. Other studies have concluded that animals do not die from an essential fatty acid deficiency. (3) c.) Unsaturated fats are toxic for your heart!
Contrary to what is being hyped by the current health trends, unsaturated fats are toxic to your heart. This knowledge has been well established by several research studies (86) (120) (121). Arterial plaque is primarily composed of unsaturated fats particularly
polyunsaturated ones.( Felton, C V, et al, Lancet, 1994, 344:1195)
d.) Unsaturated fatty acids inhibit your bodies’ ability to produce energy!
Unsaturated fatty acids have been scientifically proven as long ago as 1962 to be toxic to the mitochondria (87). The mitochondria are a small part of the cells in your body which are responsible for energy production and cellular respiration.
Cellular respiration is the conversion within the cell of nutrients (such as sugar molecules) into chemical energy (ATP), by reacting the food with oxygen (O2) until the food has completely been degraded into carbon dioxide and H2O.
Studies have demonstrated clearly that essential fatty acids also decrease the amount of energy produced by cellular respiration. (89) e.) The anti-inflammatory effects being hyped by the usage of omega three containing foods are misleading!
EPA or eicosapentaenoic acid, which is a derivative of alpha -linolenic acid (omega 3) has been shown to have anti-Inflammatory effects but only If butter was fed to the animals previous to the omega three rich foods or EPA supplements.(90) If this is the case then it may be that the consumption of any saturated fats within a certain time frame before the EPA could synergistically combine to produce the anti-inflammatory effects.
f.) The enzymes responsible for the breakdown of protein are inhibited by unsaturated fats
Proteolytic enzymes are responsible for the breakdown of the peptide bonds which form protein molecules. Unsaturated fats have been shown to inhibit Proteolytic enzymes in the blood. If you cannot digest protein eating like a starving sumo wrestler alone after- hours at a well stocked sushi bar won’t prevent malnourishment! It is crucial for optimal digestion to avoid unsaturated fats! Even more serious is the suggestion by studies that inhibition of the destruction of intracellular proteins shifts the bodies’ sensitive balance towards the growth of cancerous cells. (122) g.) Unsaturated fats suppress enzymes responsible for your thyroid producing T3 and T4!
The enzymes which stimulate your thyroid to produce thyroid hormones are inhibited by unsaturated fats. As well unsaturated fats make your body less responsive to thyroid hormones!
In the nineteen forties animals were fed a chemical which suppressed the thyroid to fatten them up. As this chemical was found to be carcinogenic it was banned and farmers switched to using corn and soybeans as these foods had the same antithyroid effect at a real low cost. (33) h.) When your body is low on thyroid it is exposed to increased estrogens and cholesterol! The thyroid hormone is essential for making the "protective hormones" progesterone and pregnenolone, so these hormones are lowered when anything interferes with the function of the thyroid. The thyroid hormone is required for using and eliminating cholesterol, so cholesterol is likely to be raised by anything which blocks the thyroid function. [B. Barnes and L. Galton, Hypothyroidism, 1976, and 1994 references.]
So if you are eating unsaturated fats your chances of having higher cholesterol are greater! (163)(153)(152)(141)
The suppression of these enzymes by unsaturated fats increases the harmful effects of estrogens as well like cancer and suppressed immune system! (31)(70)(103)(126)(112)(113)(105)
i.) What about claims of unsaturated oils like canola lowering cholesterol?
It is true that unsaturated oils lower cholesterol and this has been used by the oils industry to promote and make a multi million dollar industry.
What is not known by the masses is the method in which unsaturated oils lower your cholesterol is a toxic reaction by the liver retaining its cholesterol and not releasing it into the bloodstream.(213)(212)(203)(193)(191)(188)
This is the same mechanism used by cholesterol lowering drugs which has shown to increase mortality rates due to cancer of the liver.
j.) How do they damage the immune system?
Vegetable oil is recognized as a drug for knocking out the immune system. Vegetable oil emulsions were used to nourish cancer patients, but it was discovered that the unsaturated oils were suppressing their immune systems. The same products, in which vegetable oil is emulsified with water for intravenous injection, are now marketed specifically for the purpose of suppressing immunity in patients who have had organ transplants. Using the oils in foods has the same harmful effect on the immune system. [E. A. Mascioli, et al.,Lipids 22(6) 421, 1987.] Unsaturated fats directly kill white blood cells. [C. J. Meade and J. Martin, Adv. Lipid Res., 127, 1978.]
k.) How do they cause oxidative damage?
Unsaturated oils get rancid when exposed to air; that is called oxidation, and it is the same process that occurs when oil paint "dries." Free radicals are produced in the process. This process is accelerated at higher temperatures. The free radicals produced in this process react with parts of cells, such as molecules of DNA and protein and may become attached to those molecules, causing abnormalities of structure and function. (Raymond Peat: “unsaturated vegetable oils: toxic” copyright 1996)
l.) Are there any unsaturated fats which are okay to eat?
The only unsaturated fat I would recommend as safe is olive oil. Though it is fatty it is not as bad as canola because it contains anti oxidants in it which protect against cancer and heart disease.
m.) Why The Fish Oils Found In Salmon And Cod Liver Oils Are Bad
Although fish oils are healthier than corn or soy oil a diet rich in fish oils has been shown to lower a mans sperm count to zero! As well dogs’ diets high in fish oils increased their death rates by over twenty times from cancer! This increase is much higher than the usual five to ten percent. [H. Sinclair, Prog. Lipid Res. 25, 667, 1989.]
n.) Why are unsaturated oils then promoted as essential and also to help athletic performance?
My guess is these oils are being promoted this way by the entities that have huge profits to gain by the consensus population believing this fiction. If the truth was known there would be literally hundreds of millions of dollars lost per year in revenue.
And lost profits is exactly what happened during the fifties when paint manufacturers quit using walnut, safflower and flax oil for paint manufacturing as cheaper methods using petroleum products were discovered!
Other means to make money from these products were frantically searched for to save these industries. The health industry was the answer. If you look carefully at the propaganda used to sell these products the studies are either funded by the companies manufacturing these products or not referenced to anything. Other studies are nothing more than surveys taken from groups of people who were given these oils in a mixture which also contained fractionated coconut oil. Any positive effects reported can be solely attributed to the MCT oil. The majority of these products are not just filler but actually quite harmful to health and as a result inhibit athletic performance.
Another problem I have noticed is that if you carefully look at the references being cited in many of the sources advocating and promoting essential oils, they are from second hand sources quoting misinformation. I see many books which quote other books like “The Zone” for example or other magazine articles as scientific?!
Personally I am very wary right now of unsaturated fats and do not recommend them or include these foods in my diet or the diets of my clients. If the evidence proves that unsaturated fats are indeed healthy I may switch my views. As of this writing I do not see this happening.
o.) Daily Dosage Recommendation
Contrary to what you have been sold, unsaturated fats are risky! I do not recommend eating any purposefully in your diet. It is hard to avoid unsaturated fats if you eat out or if you are a carnivore as most animals are fed unsaturated fats or foods like grain high in unsaturated fat for fattening them up therefore will have unsaturated fat in their meat!
As a matter of fact it is recommended that if you get any of these oils on your skin to wash it off immediately as these oils may enter your blood stream through your skin!
Olive oil may be used for some salad dressings or cooking. I would suggest a maximum of three tablespoons a day. This is a maximum. If you do ingest olive oil on a regular basis, because of its tendency to promote weight gain, keep your portions minimal. (A table spoon per twenty four hour period.) I do not recommend cooking with any unsaturated fat including olive oil as any unsaturated fat has a tendency to turn to a Trans fat when heated! The problem we encounter is that when you look at the list above it is nearly impossible to avoid unsaturated fats. So what can be done to reduce the side effects associated with these fats? p.) The Solution To Negate The Harmful Side Effects Of Unsaturated Fats!
The solution to negate the harmful side effects of unsaturated fats is to eat saturated fats! There have been studies which show that eating saturated fats as well as anti-oxidants reduce the harmful effects of unsaturated fats. To summarize if you are to eat any of the above list of unsaturated fats, It is recommended to keep your intake of coconut oil and/ palm oil high.
Time Restrictions
You may be playing with your time on earth by eating high levels of unsaturated fats! There is conclusive research leading to the proof that unsaturated fats promote cancer, aging, immunosuppression, hypothyroidism, and heart disease.
2.) Saturated fats
There are two types of saturated fats; those from animal origin and those from plant origin. Although the majority of experts have either not done their research on saturated fat or are maliciously misleading you, contrary to what you probably have been told saturated fats are not bad! As a matter of fact saturated fats are healthy for you! Much more healthy for you than unsaturated fats!
a.) There Is No Link Between Saturated Fats And Heart Disease.
As a matter of fact studies have shown the intake of saturated fats to be beneficial for your heart! Saturated fatty acids raise HDL cholesterol, the so- called good cholesterol, whereas the Trans - fatty acids lower HDL cholesterol. (Mensink and Katan 1990, Judd et al 1994) The fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated which the heart will draw upon in times of stress. (229)
The Inuit people who live in the Arctic regions are a great example of a culture which lives on saturated fats and proteins. The animals have less unsaturated fats in their meat and fat as in the Arctic there are no plant sources to graze. The result is a culture which has far less cases of obesity and heart disease than the United States with all its technology and Diet Gurus living on every street corner. b.) Saturated Fats Promote Health!
Saturated fats have many health benefits like: ¾ Help the body absorb calcium for healthy bones.(226) ¾ Protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins like Tylenol(225) ¾ Enhance the immune system(227) ¾ Are required for proper utilization of essential fatty acids. Omega 3’s are better retained in the body by eating saturated fats(228)
c.) Coconut Oil And Palm Oil Negate The Harmful Effects Of Unsaturated Fats!
Studies have shown that palm oil and coconut oil are the most protective against heart disease problems like blood clotting or thrombosis (91) .These studies directly compared such oils as linseed oil (flax) olive oil, sunflower oil and whale oil. As a matter of fact the preceding list of unsaturated oils was actually found to “enhance platelet aggregation”. Platelet aggregation is basically the beginning of the process of the formation of blood clots. d.) Coconut Oil Speeds Up Your Metabolism And Produces A Decrease In White Fat Stores!
One study added coconut oil to enrich a high fat diet and reported that the coconut oil was effective in producing a reduction of white fat stores. (Portillo et al, .1998) Coconut oil really is incredible stuff! I definitely recommend it as one of the most effective, safe and easy to use methods to promote fat loss. This includes such other methods as the caffeine /ephedrine/ aspirin stack, as well as other prescription drug fat loss drugs like clenbuteral. e.) Coconut Oil Does Not Turn To Fat On Your Waist!
Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride which means it has a shorter molecular chain than normal fats. Because of this its tendency is to be directly processed by the liver making the chances of coconut oil turning to fat very slim. (5) f.) Coconut Oil Is a Great Source Of Energy!
At 8.3 calories per gram coconut oil has twice the amount of calories as carbohydrates or protein. As well because coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride it is absorbed up by the liver as fast as straight glucose to give instant energy. Using coconut oil in your diet allows you to get ample energy in your diet for rigorous training without having to resort to the use of starchy carbohydrates which love to store as fat!
g.) Coconut Oil versus Fractionated Coconut Oil
There are more health benefits to be realized by using natural coconut oil instead of the processed fractionated coconut oil. For this reason although Fractionated coconut oil is a good choice natural unrefined coconut oils is superior and less expensive. When making shakes or salad dressings Fractionated oils are your only option as they do not solidify at room temperature.
h.) Daily Dosage Recommendation
I recommend eating as much coconut oil as you can during the day. Use coconut oils as a substitute for butter in as many recipes as you can. This is a good way to negate and/or lower your chances of gaining weight from the occasional batch of cookies or baked treat!
I also recommend frying with coconut oil! Many items like eggs turn out great when coconut oil is used!
You are only going to speed up your metabolism as well as experience many wonderful health benefits like better skin, healthier hormone and cholesterol levels, stronger immune system and a healthier brain, liver as well as healthier reproductive organs and heart! if you haven’t experienced anything noticeable in terms of health benefits from essential fats you will be pleasantly surprised and actually feel the difference from ingesting coconut oils! The difference is almost immediate!
If you are going to eat any other types of saturated fats like animal fats or dairy product fats, like cheese or cream I recommend cutting out your complex carbohydrates and then you can eat fairly high amounts of these fats and actually lose fat weight and gain muscle. The Atkins diet follows this principle going a little further to actually eliminate all carbohydrate enough to put the body in a ketogenic state. You can read about this type of dieting in the bonus called Ketogenesis! i.) Approved Saturated Fats
o Eggs o Coconut oil o Palm oil o Cheeses (watch out for the amount of carbohydrates in dairy) o Butter (small amounts better to use coconut oil) o Animal fats in very small doses( trim excess) o MCTS (fractionated coconut oil)
Animal fats are much safer than unsaturated fats are. I do not recommend them though because most of the animals are fed unsaturated fats to fatten them up for bigger profits. This means that the unsaturated fats are in the actual meat and fat of most animals and very hard to avoid. If you have a choice opt for grass fed beef instead of grain fed.
As well animal source saturated fats may turn to fat on your waist as they are high in calories. If you are limiting your intake of starchy carbohydrates you may get away with eating higher quantities of animal fats with no consequence except for limiting your actual fat loss.
3.) Fibrous Carbohydrates a.) Characteristics of Fibrous Carbs Fibrous carbohydrates are foods which have the following characteristics:
♦ Are very high in fibre ♦ Are low in calories ♦ Are high in nutrients including omega 3’s and omega 6’s ♦ Are low in starches and sugars ♦ Take a lot of energy and time to break down so they are released slowly into your blood(low on glycemic index) ♦ Are high in water content ♦ Rarely if ever turn to fat
b.) List of Approved Fibrous Carbohydrates
♦ Zucchini ♦ Green, Red, Yellow, Peppers ♦ Eggplant ♦ Straw(joke) ♦ Lettuce ♦ Tomatoes ♦ Spinach ♦ Romaine Lettuce ♦ Onions ♦ Peas ♦ Green Beans ♦ Broccoli ♦ Asparagus ♦ Carrots ♦ Cauliflower ♦ Mushrooms ♦ Brussels sprouts ♦ Artichoke ♦ Cabbage ♦ Celery ♦ Cucumber c.) Recommended Daily Fibrous Carbohydrates Dosage
I recommend that you eat a serving of fibrous carbohydrates at every meal. You may eat as much of these foods as you want as they take a lot of energy to digest, usually more energy then they contain. Fibrous carbohydrates contain necessary fibres which promote a healthy colon.
As well many of the fibrous carbohydrates are a safer source than fish oils for receiving the benefits of omega 3‘s and omega 6’s. d.) Time Restrictions
There are no time restrictions to these foods and therefore you may eat them at any time including late at night or before bed.
4.) Starchy Carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates are good sources of energy but are finicky to say the least! Some people can get away with eating a lot of them most cannot! Here is a list of some approved starchy carbohydrates:
a.) List of Approved Starchy Carbohydrates
♦ Steamed Basmati, Jasmine or White Rice ♦ Spaghetti or pastas ♦ Baked Potatoes ♦ Sweet potatoes ♦ Yams ♦ Squash ♦ Low fat yogurt with no sugar b.) Daily Dosage of Starchy Carbohydrates
Daily dosage is dependant on a whether you are gaining weight or reducing fat. If you are gaining weight eat starchy carbohydrates first thing in the morning on their own and one more serving after your post workout protein meal. If you are still not gaining weight you may add a serving or two more of starches throughout your day. Always eat starches separately! Do not eat fats or proteins at the same time as starchy carbohydrates. The only exception to this rule is with coconut oil or MCTS (medium chain triglycerides). If you are reducing fat only eat starchy carbohydrates at breakfast and a little after your workouts. As a last resort cut out the carbs after your workout if you are really having trouble losing weight and perform some exercise before breakfast in the morning. c.) How Much Starchy Carbohydrate to Eat Per Serving
Portion size is dependant on the type of starch. I recommend that you experiment. With bread experiment by the slice meaning start with a slice at the prescribed times and increase to two slices then three slices. If you are putting on fat at one slice at one meal then cut down to one half of a slice after your workouts.
Pasta and rice experiment with half cup portions and reduce or increase by half cup portions uncooked. I even cook my pasta in bottled water as the fluoride levels in tap water are unpredictable.
Never eat more than one serving of starch at any given sitting! This is a ticket to getting fat like a pig that makes the fat lady sing!
d.) Time Restrictions For Eating Starchy Carbohydrates
Do not eat starches late at night unless you are skinny and want to gain weight. Never eat more than two servings of starch a day unless you are a hard gainer and need to gain weight.
5.) Simple Carbohydrates
I stay away from simple carbohydrates except for right after a workout or at breakfast with my oils or a complex carbohydrate. I rarely eat simple carbohydrates even after cardiovascular work. If I do eat simple carbohydrates I make sure they are from a natural source which has a little bit of fibre and also has a low glycemic index.
a.) List of Approved Simple Carbohydrate Foods:
♦ Bananas ♦ Pineapple ♦ Grapes ♦ Fresh cherries ♦ Grapefruit ♦ Dried Apricots( Watch out for preservatives) eat only after workouts ♦ Pears ♦ Plums ♦ Fresh Peaches ♦ Oranges ♦ Kiwis ♦ Mangoes
b.) Daily Dosage of Simple Carbohydrates
I recommend eating one serving to two servings from the above list a day. A serving is one piece of fruit, or a cup full of fruit like cherries.
c.) Time Restrictions
I will eat simple carbohydrates or fruit at the following times during the day:
♦ First thing in the morning at breakfast I enjoy starting my days with some fresh fruit ♦ After my workouts. ♦ If I am having trouble sleeping at night I may consider eating a small piece of fruit once in a while. d.) Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’S)
Medium chain triglycerides are fats which have less carbon chains to break down and therefore require less bile salts and pancreatic enzymes to digest. This means that they enter your bloodstream much quicker and are a source of fat less likely to be stored as fat MCT’s are made by lipid fractionation of coconut oil. MCT’s are also in palm kernel oil and butter. Coconut oil is one of the saturated fats which help our bodies produce vitamin D, cell membranes and hormones including anti stress hormones and testosterone! .
In the early nineties MCT’s were the rage supplement. They were made popular by John Parillo and marketed as a supplement to give energy for heavy training for losing fat under calorie restricted diets. The logic behind this is that MCT’s are a good source of energy that because of its structure does not store as fat very easily. The problems with MCT’s are that they are hard on the stomach to digest causing severe painful cramping.
I prefer coconut oil as it is from its natural source and not fractionated as MCT’s are. There are other health benefits of eating coconut oil like boosted immunity and economically coconut oil is much less expensive!
e.) Daily Dosage of MCT’s
If you are to experiment with MCT’s do not eat over a table spoon at a meal as you may experience severe cramping! After a week of ingesting a table spoon twice a day it is safe to increase the dosage to three tablespoons a day.
f.) Time Restrictions of MCT’s
There are no time restrictions for medium chain triglycerides. You may eat them at any time just be careful as to not eat too many right off the bat! This includes accumulating dosages over a twenty four hour period. You could end up with a gut ache so bad being a soldier in Afghanistan will seem like a paid luxury holiday!
- Summary -
♦ There is an abundance of misinformation by well meaning researchers citing incorrect data. ♦ Saturated fats are essential to the human body for many functions such as hormone production, fighting disease and viral infections, healthy skin, healthy metabolism, healthy liver, healthy heart healthy skin and hair. ♦ Certain saturated fats like coconut oil may be consumed at any time of day promoting many health benefits including increased metabolic rate. ♦ Limit your intake of foods containing unsaturated fats including grain fed beef and chicken ♦ Restrict your Carbohydrates especially simple sugars except for after exercise and at breakfast. ♦ MCT’s are a good source of energy but have no real advantage over straight coconut oil. Coconut oil is cheaper and has more health benefits.
References
The following are references from which the preceding chapter and chapter 6 thyroid” Master Of metabolism” were referenced from:
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Special Acknowledgement and Thanks To Ray Peat and his excellent essays on unsaturated and saturated oils including coconut oil. Much of the information from this chapter was sourced from his reports which are available at: http://www.efn.org/~raypeat/
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Some references excerpted from Mary G. Enig’s, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., article titled” Coconuts and coconut milk” Some references excerpted from Mary G. Enig’s Ph.D., F.A.C.N, and Sally Falon’s article titled “The Truth About Saturated Fat Parts I , II”
Date: ____/____/____ Total Starch Servings: Total Protein Meals: Total Fats Servings: Total Fruit Servings: Total Water Servings: Meal MEAL Time CALS P F C # FOOD CHOICES COMMENTS/TOTALS
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WEIGHT TRAINING REPETITION REST DATE____/____/____ SCHEME: INTERVAL:
PRE WORKOUT ENERGY LEVEL: POOR FAIR GOOD TIME______AM/PM EXCELLENT SET # 3 BODY WARM SET # 1 (wt x SET # 2 (wt. Total Work EXERCISE (wt. x PART UP reps)/time x reps)/time Sets 1+2+3 reps)/time
TOTAL WORKOUT VOLUME COMPLETED CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE TYPE AVERAGE HEART RATE DURATION
STATIONARY BIKE
TREADMILL
ELIPTICAL TRAINER
OTHER TRAINING NOTES
Section Five – Recipes for Explosive Growth
Breakfast Meals
Poached Eggs and Homemade Salsa
Coconut oil Three free range chicken eggs Homemade salsa ( see recipe)
Poach eggs using coconut oil in poacher apply homemade salsa to eggs
Banana Coconut and Raisin Porridge
1 banana ¼ cups of raisins ½ cup of oatmeal 1 to three tablespoons of coconut oil
Cook oatmeal in purified water. Use 1 ½ cups of water per ½ cup oatmeal. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. Add raisins and turn down heat and simmer for two minutes. Add coconut oil then remove from stove and add sliced banana.
Papaya Slices
Papaya sliced to preferred size chunks Lemon
Slice papaya and squeeze lemon juice on it.
Poached Eggs and Grilled Mushrooms
Eggs Coconut oil Mushrooms
Poach eggs using coconut oil and grill mushrooms using coconut oil. Put the mushrooms on top of the eggs and enjoy. May put some spices of your choice as well
Spinach Eggs
Ingredients: 1 portion
1 cup chopped spinach One portion eggs ( 2- 5) Nutmeg to taste 1tsp. Parmesan cheese Butter
Directions: Place spinach in a microwaveable dish. Beat eggs together and pour on top of spinach. Sprinkle cheese and nutmeg on top. Check your microwave directions to see how long to cook eggs and microwave until eggs are done. May be fried or poached for good results.
Eggs with Zucchini
Ingredients:
2 cups zucchini chopped in small cubes 1/2 tsp. chili powder butter 4 eggs Sea salt & pepper to taste
Brush non-stick skillet with Coconut oil. Place chopped zucchini in pan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender but not mushy. Sprinkle with chili powder and butter. Add eggs and continue cooking like scrambled eggs until eggs are done. Salt and pepper to taste.
Cottage Cheese with Homemade Salsa
Homemade salsa Dry cottage cheese
Mix salsa in with cottage cheese to taste and add pepper.
Chocolate Protein Shake
1 cup of water 1 scoop of flavored whey protein with no artificial sweetener (Sucrolose, Xylitol or Stevia is good) 2 tablespoons of MCT oil ( add more if extra calories required but work up slowly to avoid an upset stomach !)
Mix above ingredients into a blender and blend together. If you are not used to coconut
Cinnamon Toast with Coconut Oil
coconut oil cinnamon whole wheat bread
Make toast as usual then use coconut oil in place of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Mixed Fruit Cocktail
Any fruits including:
oranges Kiwi grapefruit strawberries grapes raspberries apricots cherries etc.
Simply eat a variety of fresh fruits for breakfast or a snack. Great after workouts as well. Banana Smoothie
1 cup of skim milk 1 banana 1 cup crushed ice 2 tablespoons of whey protein
Sunday Morning Pancakes (serves two once a week)
Whisk together in a bowl:
1 ½ cups of organic whole wheat all purpose flour 3 tablespoons of Sucanat 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder ½ teaspoon of sea salt
Stir together in another bowl:
1 ½ cups of milk 3 tablespoons of coconut butter/ oil 2 large eggs ½ teaspoon of vanilla
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix together just enough to combine ingredients. The more you mix the flatter the pancakes will turn out! Cook on a medium heat griddle with coconut oil and serve with maple syrup.
Spanish rice
Ingredients:
Basmati rice Water (according to directions) 1 small Onion, chopped 1 can Tomatoes 1 4oz can Diced Green Chiles Garlic Powder
Directions:
In a pan, sweat the chopped onion. You can use a little water if needed. Once the onions become translucent, add the rice and water. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add the canned tomatoes, green chilies and garlic powder. Cook according to directions on rice. To cook without extra juice, finish off rice by cooking uncovered a few more minutes using medium- high heat. Watch until all remaining liquid is absorbed or evaporated. You could also reduce your water by 1/2 cup.
Good for post workout as well as a breakfast dish.
Lunch/Dinner Meals
Turkey Goulash Chili
Cook thoroughly:
2 pounds of ground free range turkey in three tablespoons of coconut oil add oregano, ground red pepper, and cumin to taste add one table spoon of cocoa powder
Mix together in a large pot:
one large can of organic tomatoes with juice one can of black beans one zucchini chopped 1 cup of mushrooms chopped pineapple slices with juice
After meat is thoroughly cooked, drain it off and mix in with vegetables and let simmer on a low heat for 45 minutes. Add coconut oil when served. May substitute ground beef or ground chicken as well.
Keema Mattar (minced meat and peas) 4-6 servings
2 tablespoon of coconut oil ½ onion finely sliced 2 cloves crushed garlic ½ tsp finely grated fresh ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp chili powder 1lb of ground beef ½ cup of yoghurt 1 cup of peas 1 tsp garam masala 1 ½ teaspoon of sea salt 2 tsp fresh cilantro
Heat coconut oil and fry onion till soft medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger fry till onion is golden brown Add turmeric, chili powder, and stir for a few seconds Add meat Fry turning meat frequently break up any lumps and cook till brown Stir in yoghurt and peas lower heat and cook for fifteen minutes. Add garam masala and salt, cook till peas are tender.( 20 minutes Approx) Add cilantro before serving
Exotic Meat Kabobs
1 pound of cubed meat 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut ½ onion 2 cloves garlic 1tsp chopped fresh ginger ¼ tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ground cardamom ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper 1 tsp poppy seeds ½ cup yoghurt
Toast coconut in dry frying pan over medium heat stirring constantly till golden brown. Grind onion, garlic, and ginger in blender into a smooth puree. Add toasted coconut to remaining ingredients and blend until fine.
Pour over meat pieces in a storage container coating meat well. Cover and leave in fridge overnight or at room temperature for two hours. Thread onto skewers and cook until brown on barbeque or broiler Serve with vegetables
Roast Beef
One beef roast 3 pounds Bay leaves , sea salt, ground black pepper Coconut oil 6 cloves of garlic
Cut gashes in roast and insert garlic slices and bay leaves. Brush the meat with coconut oil and season. Place roast in oven at 350 degrees and cook until tender. Serve 4 ounce servings. Slightly under cook as when you reheat meat will get over cooked otherwise.
Parillo Chicken Fingers
This recipe is inspired from John Parillo’s, “CapTri Cookbook.” Available from Parillo Performance, 8031 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231.
4 – 5 ounce chicken breasts 4 tablespoons of MCT oil 1 cup oatmeal Garlic Paprika Chili powder Pepper Coconut oil
Cut chicken into slices 1 inch thick Put into a bowl and toss in other ingredients adding spice to taste. Place coated chicken strips on a cookie sheet coated with coconut oil Bake at 400 degrees F for fifteen minutes
Chinese Beef Skillet
This recipe is also inspired from John Parillo
1 cup peas 1 red bell pepper sliced 1 cauliflower broken 4 tbsp coconut oil 1.5 pounds of beef sliced paper thin 1 clove garlic minced 1 small chopped onion 1 large broccoli sliced 2 cups of beef broth 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tbsp corn starch
Heat a large skillet to 400 degrees. Add oil mix until it crackles add beef. Cook briskly until browned turning meat constantly for about two minutes. Remove beef. Cook onion and garlic in remaining oil for 1 ½ minutes. Add cauliflower, broccoli, peas, bell pepper, and broth and cook for 3 minutes.
Heat broth in skillet. Mix corn starch, soy sauce and water and slowly stir broth Add beef and vegetables back in liquid and serve.
Buffalo Loaf
1.5 lbs of lean ground buffalo meat two eggs 1 tbsp chopped parsley 1 grated carrot 1 minced onion 2 tbsp ketchup 4 tbsp coconut oil garlic and oregano to taste
Mix all ingredients in a loaf pan .Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes. Serve
Orange Roughy
4 oz dry white wine 4 oz orange juice 3 lb Orange Roughy filet 1onion,chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 3 teaspoons coconut oil 1 large carrot, shredded 4 oz non fat yogurt 3 teaspoons grinded orange rind Dash each of dry mustard, tarragon, and black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine wine and orange juice, pour over fillets and marinate for an hour. Sauté onion, green pepper garlic and coconut oil until vegetables are tender Place Fillets on a non- stick baking dish reserving the marinade Blend together carrot, yogurt, orange peels, herbs, and 2 tablespoons of the marinade. Bake for thirty to thirty five minutes (The above recipe inspired by Sliced Written by Negrita Jayde and Bill Reynolds)
Chicken Adobo
This recipe is also inspired from John Parillo.
2 pounds of chicken breast chopped ½ cup of vinegar ½ cup soy sauce 1 clove garlic ½ tsp black pepper ¼ cup coconut oil
Combine chicken, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, coconut oil and black pepper to make a marinade. Add chicken and let sit for 6 hours. Place chicken and marinade in a large pan and heat until liquid boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Asparagus Quiche (contains milk products)
Ingredients: 6 portions
1 cup low-fat Swiss cheese, shredded 1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded 1 cup asparagus, chopped 1/4 cup onion, diced 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced 3 cups Whole eggs 1 cup skim milk 1 cup evaporated milk Nutmeg and pepper to taste
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat a 10 x 12-inch glass baking dish with coconut oil or butter.. Spread cheese on bottom of pan and then spread all vegetables on top of the cheese. Whisk eggs, milk, evaporated milk, nutmeg and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over cheese and vegetables and bake uncovered about 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.
Makes 6 Servings Serving Size: 1 piece
Nutrients per serving: Calories: 157 Total fat: 2 grams Saturated fat: 1 grams Cholesterol: 11 mg Sodium: 348 mg Carbohydrate: 11 grams Protein: 23 grams Dietary fiber: 1 gram
Steak Kabobs
Ingredients: 6 Portions
1 2/3 lb flank or round steak 2 tbsp. low fat beef broth 2 tbsp. red wine 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. rosemary 1 large tomato cut into eight wedges
Directions: Cut steak into half inch cubes. Combine all remaining ingredients except tomato, and marinate steak in fridge 3-4 hours or overnight. String steak and tomato wedges on six long skewers, one tomato wedge for 2-3 steak cubes. Broil kabobs 3 minutes, brush with marinade on both sides and broil 2 minutes more or until pink, medium or well done. Serve with green salad or vegetables.
Per serving (kabobs only) 163 calories, 27g protein, 2.5 carbs, 5g fat. Barbequed Beef Tenderloin
Ingredients: 10 Portions
1 Tbsp. fennel seeds, crushed 2 tsp. Sea salt 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper 2-1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin roast
Directions:
Prepare grill. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Rub spices into beef. Meat can be covered and refrigerated overnight before grilling. Cook beef in covered grill 30-40 minutes per pound over medium heat, turning occasionally, until meat thermometer reads 135°F. Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing thinly. (Temperature will go up ten degrees while standing.) This recipe serves 10 people. Because this recipe is for a particular size pan, it adjusts the number of servings only in multiples of 10.
Per serving: calories 179, fat 8.7g, 45% calories from fat, cholesterol 57mg, protein 23.2g, carbohydrates 0.4g, fiber 0.3g, sugar 0.1g, sodium 71mg
Mustard Grilled Turkey Breasts
Ingredients: 4 portions
2 Tbsp. Maille Dijon mustard 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. rosemary 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 Tbsp. virgin olive oil 4 4 ounce turkey breast fillets
Directions: Prepare grill or broiler. Combine all ingredients, except turkey, in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously. Grill or broil turkey breasts 4 minutes per side. Spread half the mustard mixture over one side of turkey breasts and grill or broil 3 minutes. Turn and coat with remaining mustard mixture. Broil another 3 minutes or until turkey is cooked throughout.
Per serving: calories 165, fat 4.5g, 25% calories from fat, cholesterol 70mg, protein 28.4g, carbohydrates 1.2g, fiber 0.3g, sugar 0.3g, sodium 154mg
Pan Fried Red Snapper
Ingredients:
1-1/4 lbs. red snapper fillets 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. coconut oil 1-1/4 lemons or limes, cut in wedges
Directions:
Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 5-6 minutes per side until fish flakes. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.
Per serving: calories 265, fat 7.0g, 24% calories from fat, cholesterol 53mg, protein 32.3g, carbohydrates 17.3g, fiber 1.8g, sugar 1.5g, sodium 621mg
Beef with Broccoli
Ingredients:4 portions
3/4 tsp. Ginger 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt 1/4 tsp. Pepper 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 1 tsp. minced fresh Garlic
4 portions Lean Sirloin Steak cut into strips.
3 Cups Broccoli Flowers 1 Med. Onion thinly sliced 2 med. ripe tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces
Directions:
Mix together ginger sea salt, pepper, lemon juice Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Then add Lean sirloin steak. Let marinate for at least 5 minutes. Best if longer than 4 hours.
In a non stick skillet saute in butter or coconut butter the broccoli and medium onion.Cook until "crisply tender" (4 - 5 min). Add extra coconut oil to keep skillet from getting dry. Add sirloin and marinade to vegetables. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until meat is cooked (6 to 8 min).
Add tomatoes cover and let stand until slightly heated.
Orange Roughy with Tomatoes
Ingredients: 3- 4 portions
1 lb - Orange Roughy fillets 14.5 oz. can Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano.
Directions: In a 12" skillet drain a small portion of the juice from the can of tomatoes, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Arrange the fish fillets in a single layer, and cover with the remaining tomatoes and juice. Cover and poach over medium heat for 10-20 minutes, just until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Serve with salad of your choice and vegetables for a complete meal.
Soup variation: (Tastes great and makes enough for a bowl every day.) 2 lbs. Orange Roughy 4 cans Hunts diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano
In a Dutch oven empty one can of tomatoes, place 1lb of the fish in a single layer over the tomatoes. Empty another can of tomatoes over the fish and arrange the remaining fish in a single layer over the tomatoes. Top with the remaining two cans of tomatoes. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes until fish flakes easily and flavors have melded. Take off heat and break up fish to bite size pieces.
(Recipe Source: Unknown)
Anguiano Turkey
Ingredients: 8 big portions
2 pounds ground turkey 1-2 cups sliced mushrooms Chili Powder Sea salt Homemade Salsa Recipe Pepper
Directions: Heat Skillet at med high and add coconut oil. Brown ground turkey . After meat is cooked through, drain off grease and add mushrooms and salsa . Cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Spice to taste.
Italian Chicken And Vegetables
Ingredients: 4 portions
3 tablespoons Paul Newman Italian salad dressing 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced 2 Roma or plum tomatoes, diced 1 large carrot, julienne cut 3 green onions, sliced
Directions:
Heat 1-tablespoon Newman’s Own Italian salad dressing in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned on both sides. Remove and set aside. Add remaining Italian salad dressing and heat over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, carrot and chicken breasts. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until chicken is done, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and vegetables and cook sauce over high heat until reduced, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and serve over chicken.
Serving Size: 1 chicken breast and 6 ounces vegetables
Nutrients per serving: Calories: 231 Total fat: 9 grams Saturated fat: 2 grams Cholesterol: 69 mg Sodium: 162 mg Carbohydrate: 10 grams Protein: 28 grams Dietary fiber: 2 grams
Grilled Tuna Steaks
Ingredients: 4 portions
4 (4 ounce) tuna steaks 1 small onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings 1/2 cup white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons dried mint 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions: Place tuna and onion in a shallow baking dish. Combine vinegar and next 4 ingredients and pour over tuna and onion. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator about 2 hours, turning tuna occasionally. Remove tuna from marinade and place marinade and onions in heavy duty foil and seal tightly.
Coat grill of barbecue with cooking spray and place over medium-hot coals or medium heat. Place foil packet on grill and cook about 15-20 minutes or until onion is tender- turn packet frequently. Place tuna on the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily. Serve tuna steaks with onion and marinade mixture spooned on top.
Serving Size: 4 ounces tuna and 1/4 onion
Nutrients per serving: Calories: 190 Total fat: 6 grams Saturated fat: 1 gram Cholesterol: 43 mg Sodium: 341 mg Carbohydrate: 6 grams Protein: 27 grams Dietary fiber: less than 1 gram
Grilled Oriental Shrimp Kabobs
Ingredients: 16 portions
3 tablespoons soy sauce or reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 tablespoon regular or seasoned rice vinegar 1 tablespoon coconut oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Directions:
For marinade, combine soy sauce, vinegar, MCT oil, garlic and pepper flakes in small bowl; mix well. Cover; refrigerate up to 3 days. To complete recipe, prepare marinade. Combine marinade and shrimp in reseal able plastic food storage bag. Seal bag securely. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours, turning bag once.
Coat barbecue grid with coconut oil. Prepare barbecue grill for direct cooking.
Drain shrimp reserving marinade. Thread shrimp onto 12-inch--long skewers. Place skewers on prepared grid; brush with half of reserved marinade.
Grill skewers, on covered grill, over medium coals 5 minutes. Turn skewers over; brush with remaining half of marinade. Grill 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.
Nutrition information: Calories 129, % calories from fat32%,Total Fat 4 g, Sat. Fat 1 g, Protein 20 g, Carbohydrates 1 g, Cholesterol 173 mg, Sodium 596 mg, Dietary Fiber 1 g
Crock-pot Cajun Chicken And Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut) 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, chopped and undrained 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon paprika 1 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1 lb shelled shrimp, deveined and cleaned 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice hot sauce, to taste
Directions:
1. Put all into crock-pot except for last 4 ingredients with breasts at bottom. 2. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours. 3. In last hour of cooking add shrimp, hot sauce, and lemon juice. 4. Serve with salad or veggies
Chicken Andre
Ingredients: 8 portions
4 chicken breasts (bone in but deskinned) cut the breasts in half (½ breast = 1portion) ½ cup of olive oil 10-12 cloves of garlic 1 Tbsp Rosemary ½ tsp oregano ½ tsp basil 1 or 2 bay leaves sea salt to taste
Directions:
Wash chicken and put in oven proof dish with all other ingredients. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes covered. Then put under the broiler for a minute on each side to brown. Serve with salad and veggies.
You can substitute shrimp for the chicken (add the salt last in that case to have the shrimp pull away from the shell
Turkey Burgers
Ingredients:
pound lean ground turkey breast ½ small onion ½ pound mushrooms more/less if you’d like (NOT washed) clove fresh garlic pepper
George Forman grill Food chopper (mini or hand – so you can dice very fine)
Wipe mushrooms off well. They soak up too much water if rinsed. Dice mushrooms. Dice onion and garlic Place all ingredients in bowl. Mix well. It’s gonna be a gooey mess. Scoop out mixture in 1/5 portions onto wax paper and form into patties. I use a Tupperware lid. Take spatula and place on hot GFG (George Foreman Grill). Cook for 3 mins. May need to cook a smidge longer (1 min max) depending on temp of grill. Don’t lift lid until at least 3 mins – patties will rip apart. Be sure you have the little drain thingy under the grill – lots of moisture runs off!
Makes 5 patties – for protein content refer to package. Serve with a salad or vegetables.
Herb Chicken
Ingredients:
Combine:
2 teaspoons rosemary leaves, finely crushed 3/4 teaspoon thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning ( I had none of this so I used 1/4 tsp garlic powder and freshly ground pepper) 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
Mix all the herbs and add some extra virgin olive oil to make a paste. Rub paste all over the chicken even between the skin and breast and cook done on the thermometer.
Philippines Chicken Adobo
Ingredients:
4 Portions
4 Medium Boneless Skinless chicken breast (whole or chopped) 10 whole black pepper corns 1 head of Bock Choy 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper 8 – 10 thin round slices of ginger root then slice 2 cup Soy Sauce 1/2 cup white vinegar 2 cups water
Add all ingredients (except chicken) and bring to a rolling boil. When the boil starts add chicken and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, add Bock Choy and boil 5 minutes. When the chicken is tender remove from heat and serve with salad or vegetables. If your sauce starts to get low do not add sauce ingredients individually during the boil, this will throw off the taste of the sauce, make another batch and add as needed during the boil.
Pot Roast Style Steak With Tomatoes
Ingredients:
4 Portions
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil. 1 pound sirloin or lean steak of choice, all visible fat removed, cut into serving-size pieces 2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced 2 Italian plum tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled Black pepper to taste Add Sea salt to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sear the steaks until desired doneness, about 10 minutes for rare. Transfer the meat to a serving platter and cover with foil or a lid to keep warm. Set aside.
Add the garlic to the skillet and sauté over low heat until golden, about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn it. Add the rest of the ingredients except the meat. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are tender but still have texture, about 5 minutes. Return the meat to the skillet, along with any juices, and cook gently for a few minutes to combine flavors.
Transfer meat and sauce to the platter and serve immediately.
Cook's Tip: Keep in mind that the meat will continue to cook slightly both when covered on the platter and when returned to the sauce. If you like your steak on the pink side, you might want to undercook it a bit.
Calories: 157 Protein: 23 g Carbohydrates: 3 g Total Fat: 5 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0 g Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 60 mg Sodium: 49 mg Jerked Chicken
Ingredients:
Serves 4; 1 breast half per serving
2 teaspoons whole or ground allspice 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons light soy sauce 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 medium limes) 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped 1 shallot, peeled and chopped 1 tbsp rum or 1/8 tsp rum extract 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp acceptable vegetable oil 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp black pepper 4 - boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 ounces each), all visible fat removed
In a small skillet over medium-low heat, dry-roast the whole allspice for 1 to 2 minutes (1 minute for ground allspice). This will help bring out the full flavor. Grind whole allspice in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Put allspice into a blender or the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the remaining ingredients except chicken. Process for 20 to 30 seconds, and then pour into a shallow nonmetallic bowl. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken breasts in mixture and let marinate for 2 to 10 hours, covered, in the refrigerator. Turn breasts twice while marinating.
When ready to cook, prepare grill or preheat broiler. Grill chicken over medium- hot coals or broil in a broiler-safe pan, 4 to 6 inches from heat, for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through. Cook’s Tip: Cook extra breasts for "planned-overs", such as sliced and used in a fresh green vegetable salad with cheese, and fresh tomatoes for a Latin salad.
Calories: 133 Protein: 24 g Carbohydrates: Total Fat: 3 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 62 mg Sodium: 277 mg
Red Snapper with Tomato Salsa and Black Beans
Ingredients for 2 Portions
Feel free to experiment with other types of fish. Snapper is one of the best priced fish.
3/4 cup chopped tomatoes 2 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro or parsley 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 red snapper fillets with skin (4 oz each and about 1/2" thick) 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained and heated. Lime wedges (optional, but highly recommended)
Directions:
For the salsa: In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes, minced cilantro (or parsley) and vinegar. Cover and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors while broiling or grilling the snapper.
For the Snapper (or your fish of choice): To grill: coat the unheated grill rack with coconut oil. Then light the grill. Place the rack on the grill. Place the fillets on the rack, skin side down, over the coals. Grill uncovered for about 5 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is cooked all the way through.
To broil: Coat the rack of a broiling pan with coconut oil. Place the fish on the rack, skin side down. Broil 4" from heat for about 5 minutes or until done.
To finish the meal, spoon salsa over the fish and serve with the beans. If desired, garnish with lime wedges and Cilantro.
**Additional Hints: Add 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or lemon pepper for extra flavor
Buffalo Chili
1lb Ground Buffalo 450g 1 Medium Onion Chopped I 5 oz I can pinto beans rinsed and drained 16oz 2 cans, peeled tomatoes 1/2 cup Water 2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt I /2 tsp ground pepper
PREPARATION In a non-stick skillet sauté the ground Buffalo and onion until the meat is browned and the onion is tender. Add the pinto beans, tomatoes, water and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, adding more water if chili becomes too thick. Add chopped cilantro and simmer for additional 10 minutes. Add a little grated cheese on top if desired.
Tip: Cook ground Buffalo to 160 f (70 c ) Rosemary Rib Roast
5lb Rib Roast Balsamic Vinegar for brushing
Herb Paste:
2 tbsp minced Garlic 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1tsp dried 2 tbsp sea salt 1 tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 450 F. Place roast fat side up and on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush entire surface of roast with balsamic vinegar. Combine garlic, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, and olive oil to make a paste. Coat top. ends and sides of roast with herb paste.
Place beef in oven and roast for fifteen minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and continue roasting for tow hours for a medium degree of doneness. Remove from oven and allow roast to stand - 10 minutes: slice across the grain.
Serve with roasted vegetables
Herbed Chicken Piccata
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs(optional) 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves coconut butter 8 thin lemon slices 1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish; set aside.
2. Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Lightly coat both sides of chicken with coconut oil or olive oil; dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.
3. Melt coconut butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet. Set aside; keep warm. Add lemon slices to skillet; saute 30 seconds. Add broth, parsley, and lemon juice; cook 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: CALORIES 160 (16% from fat); FAT 2.9g (sat 0.6g, mono 0.8g, poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 27.3g; CARB 6.9g; FIBER 0.4g; CHOL 66mg; IRON 1.4mg; SODIUM 115mg; CALC 46mg
YIELD: 4 servings
Garlic Chili Prawns
Chili-garlic shrimp with red peppers
Sautéing mellows both the garlic and chilies in this stir-fry that's easy enough to do on a weeknight when you want to splurge on shrimp.
Preparation Time : 15 minutes Cooking Time : 15 minutes Makes : 3 to 4 servings
4 minced garlic cloves 1/2 tsp ( 2 ml) hot red chili flakes 2 tbsp ( 30 ml) butter 2 small sweet red peppers 1/4 cup ( 50 ml) white wine 12 shrimp, (375 to 500 g) cooked or raw 4 green onions, sliced into 1/2-inch (1-cm) pieces
1. Sauté garlic and chili flakes in butter in a wide frying pan set over low heat until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, seed peppers and slice into julienne strips. Measure out wine. If shrimp are frozen, rinse under cold water to melt any ice crystals. Slice green onions.
2. Add peppers to sautéed garlic. Increase heat to high. Stir often for about 3 minutes, just until peppers start to soften. Then add wine, shrimp and onions. Stir constantly, until shrimp are bright pink and hot, from 4 to 8 minutes. Serve with salad or vegetables.
Nutrients per serving 18.5 g protein, 3.1 mg iron, 6.8 g fat, 54.0 mg calcium, 3.5 g carbohydrates, 0.7 g fiber, 254.0 mg sodium, 157.0 calories.
Sauces
(To gain muscle and lose fat)
The following sauces are great for adding to vegetables and chicken etc. They add taste as well as have benefits for losing fat and gaining muscle. The first three are inspired from John Parillo’s Cap Tri cookbook!
Ginger Sauce for Vegetables
2 tbsp of coconut oil 1 chopped onion 1 clove garlic minced 1 tsp grated fresh ginger or ½ tsp dried ginger 2 tsp lemon juice
Simmer onions and garlic in coconut oil until soft. Stir in ginger and lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes more. Refrigerate for use at a later time.
Italian Marinade
9 tbsp of MCT oil 9 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp dried oregano 1 tbsp dried thyme 1 slice onion 1 garlic clove
Blend MCT oil lemon juice and herbs with a fork. Add onion and garlic. Marinate for an hour before cooking. Tomato Dressing
6 tbsp MCT oil 1/3 cup tomato juice ¼ cup vinegar ground pepper to taste ½ tsp oregano ½ tsp mustard
Combine the above ingredients well and serve on vegetables meats or chicken. Can be used on pasta as well. Remember eat pasta separately and after workouts is best!
Green Goddess Dressing
¾ cup of metabolism mayonnaise 3 tbsp snipped parsley 3 tbsp chives or green onion 3 tbsp dill leaves or 1 ½ tsp dried dill weed 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp MCT oil
Mix ingredients using additional lemon juice and coconut oil to thin dressing as required. Let sit a few minutes then pour over raw or cooked vegetables.
Metabolism Mayonnaise
4 egg whites 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 cup MCT oil 1 tsp dry mustard
Beat egg whites in a blender at low speed. Add lemon juice and dry mustard. Continue to blend while adding coconut oil. Continue blending until smooth. Refrigerate!
Raspberry Vinaigrette
16 tbsp of MCT oil 12 tbsp raspberry vinegar 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp honey 1 tbsp shallots minced
Mix ingredients completely then refrigerate to use as required.
Homemade Salsa
4 tomatoes ¼ onion 2 green onions 1 lime or lemon sea salt cilantro garlic powder Cut up tomatoes, ¼ onion, and green onions to desired size chunks. Squeeze lime/lemon over add cilantro, oregano, cumin, sea salt and garlic to taste then serve.
Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
1/3 Cup Vinegar 1/4 Cup Lime Juice 3/4 Cup Sugar 1 TSP Salt 1/2 TSP Onion Juice 1 TSP Poppy Seed 1 TSP Dry Mustard 1 TSP Paprika 1 Cup MCT Oil
Combine Vinegar and lime juice in pan, bring to boil, then add all other ingredients but cobnut oil and onion juice, stirring to dissolve. Heat coconut oil slightly to liquefy then add with juice ,beat until thickened. Cover and chill. Serve on fresh greens of choice or fruit salad for breakfast or after a good workout!
Homemade Salsa III
Ingredients:
2 cans Chili's Fiesta tomatoes 1 fresh jalapeno diced 1 bunch of fresh Cilantro 1 tsp. garlic Sea salt to taste
Throw everything into a food processor, and blend away. Test the salsa before you take it out of the food processor. If it tastes overly acidic, add a dash of lemon juice and blend again. Great on shrimp, chicken and fish!
Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped pineapple 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 Tbsp finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 1/4 tsp black pepper
Mix ingredients and refrigerate. Let cure for a few hours for best taste. Great on fish!
Snacks
Following are some foods which are to be eaten on their own. -Pasta with tomato sauce. -Coconut rice. -Fruits
Coconut Oil Popcorn
If you have the munchies and want a delicious snack that is low calorie and boosts the metabolism, buy some popping corn and pop it in coconut oil! Then add a little sea salt and you have a delicious snack! I caution against eating popcorn too often as although it is fairly low in calories when plain, it is high in unsaturated fat.
½ cup popcorn 3 tbsp coconut oil lightly salt with sea salt
Heat coconut oil in a 3 quart pan at a low heat so that oil does not burn. Add popcorn. When kernels begin to bubble, start shaking pan overheat until popping slows to just two or three seconds in between.
Coconut Oil Potato Chips
For a healthy metabolism boosting snack cut up some potatoes in slices and fry them in coconut oil like French fries! Remember to keep the coconut oil at below 325 degrees!
Sea Salted Organic Prunes
5 – 10 prune Sea salt
Take the prunes and salt to taste. This is a unique treat I like which every one else in the world may hate! I like it so much I thought I would risk putting it in this snack section!
Quick Shake Recipes (That contain what you put in them)
When making protein shakes the problem is running into the all too common Protein and starchy /simple carbohydrate combination. If you are to make shakes the way around this is to:
Make shakes with protein/fats/Stevia or sucrolose for sweetening Make just straight carbohydrate shakes after training or for breakfast.
Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his encyclopedia for body building that he prefers to make his own shakes as He knows what is in them. I agree. Here are some recipe guidelines that fit The Underground Secrets Eating Plan.
For protein sources choose one or a mixture of the following:
Skim milk powder Whey Protein with no aspartame or asulfame – K Egg protein powder
For energy use:
MCT Oil: 1 to 4 tablespoons.
For flavors try:
Cocoa powder Vanilla extract Commercially flavored protein powder
For sweetening add:
Stevia Xylitol Sucanat
Salads
Green Beans and Roasted Red Pepper Salad -- Number of Servings: 12
3 red bell peppers 2 pounds green beans Salt Pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons olive oil
This light side dish is just the right match for the Deep-Dish Chicken-Fennel Pie, and a snap to make.
Step 1: Preheat broiler. Place peppers in oven and broil, turning occasionally, until blackened on all sides. Remove peppers from broiler, and immediately place in a paper bag and close. Set aside 15 minutes to sweat. Remove peppers from bag and slip off skins. Remove and discard seeds and core. Cut peppers into thin strips.
Step 2: Heat a large saucepan of lightly salted water to boiling. Trim stem ends from beans. Drop beans into boiling water and cook, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Remove from heat, drain, and rinse beans with cold water to stop cooking.
Step 3: Combine beans and peppers, and arrange on large platter. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley, and drizzle with olive oil. (Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Nutritional Information 1 serving: Calories 76 , Saturated Fat 1g , Total Fat 3g , Protein 0g , Carbohydrate 1g , Fiber 0g , Sodium 91mg , Cholesterol 0mg
Zoles Zucchini
Ingredients: 8 portions
1 can chicken broth ( may use equivalent amount from an un canned source like cubes) 1 onion 1-2 cloves garlic fresh mushrooms 4 zucchini fresh basil Italian herbs to taste (Oregano etc)
Open can of chicken broth and put it in a non-stick pan. Slice onion and add to pan. Mince garlic and add to onions and broth. Sauté and let the onion and garlic cook until the chicken broth has reduced down and is almost gone. While the onion is cooking, slice up zucchini and mushrooms. Put the mushrooms aside. Add fresh (or dried) herbs to onion mixture. After the chicken broth is reduced, add zucchini. Cook it to taste. I like mine a little crunchy (not mushy). Then add mushrooms and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms are a little cooked and have soaked up the flavors.
Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
chicken breasts 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce 1/2 tbsp ginger 1 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar 1 Tbsp. Water 2 cups. coleslaw mix (or broccoli slaw, or a mixture of both) 1/4 cup. sliced green onion 1/3 cup. chopped cilantro 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 3-4 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1/2 tbsp + ginger 2 Tbsp sesame seeds Add cracked pepper to taste
Bake the chicken in the soy sauce, ginger, vinegar and water for 20 min. @ 350, or until done, then dice.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir together. Allow to sit for several hours in the refrigerator prior to serving. Serve with vegetables of your choice or a glass of cold water!.
originally, Paige's Thai Chicken Salad
Spaghetti Squash
A PRIMER COURTSEY OF SANDRA AHTEN
Lesson One: Spaghetti squash is a zero-point vegetable!
Lesson Two: An average size spaghetti squash (2 pounds) yields about 5 cups of vegetable.
Lesson Three: How to cook a spaghetti squash in a microwave:
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Cover each half with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for about 9 minutes, or until squash separates easily into spaghetti-like strands when tested with a fork. With this method you can rub spices or herbs into the squash before it cooks for additional flavor. - or - Pierce squash several times with a fork and place (whole) on a plate in microwave. Cook on high 15-18 minutes, or until tender. Turn the squash every 5-6 minutes. When the squash has cooled enough that you can handle it (5 minutes or so), cut it in half lengthwise and discard the seeds. Remove strands with a fork.
Lesson Four: How to cook a spaghetti squash in a conventional oven.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. In a baking dish large enough to hold the two halves, put about an inch of water, rub in spices or herbs if desired, and place the squash cut side down. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.
Lesson Five: Spaghetti squash is versatile. Use it anywhere you might normally use pasta or zucchini. Here are some simple ideas from members:
"I like to sauté vegetables in Pam for lunch. I put them on top of cooked spaghetti squash for a delicious 0- point meal."
"It is so good just cooked in the microwave with a little Molly McButter on it; also good with tomato sauce."
"I tried something different and it was delicious. I sliced the squash and sprinkled it with cinnamon and a wee bit of chili powder. I roasted in a 350-degree oven for about an hour. It was amazing! I reheated it in a pan sprayed with Pam and sprinkled it with a little more cinnamon."
"I like mine with a packet of taco seasoning."
"This is great for 3-4 points. Cook half the spaghetti squash in the microwave while sautéing 1 can of chopped tomatoes, zucchini, onions, mushrooms and 5 ‘garden burger’ mini-meatballs. Toss together and enjoy"
Add some garlic, salt, pepper, your favorite low fat grated cheese, and a little olive oil. Mix everything into a bowl and bake for a few minutes. My eight year old likes it."
Lesson Six: What to do with leftovers
Cooked spaghetti squash removed from the shell will save in an airtight container in your refrigerator for several days. If you cook only half at a time, cover the uncooked half with plastic wrap and refrigerate. It will save for a week or more.
Lesson Seven: Recipes!
SQUASHED TERIYAKI CHICKEN
2 (huge) servings at 4-1/2 points each
1 cup sugar snap peas 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans 1/2 medium onion 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced 1/2 medium zucchini, sliced 2/3 cup frozen corn 1/2 spaghetti squash, cooked 6 oz chicken breast 4 Tbsp Lite teriyaki sauce Mrs. Dash or other spices to taste
Cut chicken breast in bite-size pieces. In a non-stick skillet sauté chicken breast in cooking spray until done. Remove from pan. Sauté vegetables (except squash) and spices in cooking spray. When vegetables are done, add teriyaki sauce, chicken, and squash and heat through.
SOUTWEST SPAGHETTI SQUASH
4 servings at 5 points each
2 pounds spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded 1 can Mexican-style diced tomatoes (15 oz), undrained 1 can black beans (15 oz), rinsed 1/4 cup minced cilantro 1/4 tsp garlic salt 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 tsp cumin 3/4 cup shredded low fat Monterey jack cheese
Combine squash, tomatoes, beans, 1/2 cup cheese, cilantro, and spices in a large bowl, stirring well. Spoon into a 1-1/2 quart casserole sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30- 35 minutes.
SPAGHETTI SQUASH VEGGI BAKE
6 (one cup) servings at 2 points each
1 spaghetti squash, cooked 1/2 cup onion 3/4 cup nonfat sour cream 3 Tbsp nonfat mayonnaise 1/4 cup Romano cheese 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/3 cup Melba toast crumbs (about 10 toast, crushed) 1 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp onion powder
Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until tender. Combine squash, onion, and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Spoon into a baking pan approximately 10 x 6 x 2 inches coated with cooking spray; set aside.
Combine toast crumbs and next 3 ingredients; stir well. Sprinkle over squash mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. BREAKFAST LINK / SPAGHETTI SQUASH FRY
1 serving at 1 point
1/2 spaghetti squash, cooked 2 non-meat "sausage" links (such as Morningstar Farm brand) 1/2 cup diced onion
Dice the links. Brown the onion and links in a heated non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Add cooked squash and "fry" until it starts browning. For additional points, serve with ketchup, or parmesan cheese, and/or garlic toast.
SPAGHETTI SQUASH PRIMAVERA
4 servings at 1 point each
2 tsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 1/4 cup thinly sliced carrot 1/4 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper 1/4 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained 1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow squash 1/2 cup thinly sliced zucchini 1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves 1/8 tsp dried thyme leaves 1 spaghetti squash, cooked 4 tsp grated parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Heat a oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic. Cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and peppers. Cook and stir 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, corn, oregano, and thyme. Cook 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Spoon over heated spaghetti squash and top with evenly divided cheese. SPAGHETTI SQUASH IN PUTTANESCA SAUCE
4 servings at 2 point each
1 medium (2pound) spaghetti squash 1 medium red onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 (13 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped 1/4 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth 1 Tbsp capers 4 medium kalamata olives, chopped 1 to 2 tsp crushed red pepper 1 tsp honey 1/4 tsp salt 4 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Bake and separate the spaghetti squash. Set aside and keep warm. In a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over high heat. Add the onion and garlic; when they start to sizzle, reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the peppers and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until well minced. Pour in the broth and pulse until nearly smooth. Return the mixture to the skillet; stir in the capers, olives, red pepper, honey and salt, and heat through. Add the squash strands and toss gently in the pan. Serve at once, sprinkled with the cheese
Section Six – Jealously Guarded Training Tips and Treasures
It has taken me eighteen years to get to the point I am now! I can honestly say that I am still learning new techniques on a daily basis! Thankfully it is never ending or I would have probably moved on to another field! On the other hand because there is so much to learn I threw this chapter together to compile a library of little details which can save you years of trial and error! There are many who do not make it through those years of trail and error and ultimately end up quitting their quest for size!
The Only Way to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat At The Same Time!
The ONLY way to lose fat and gain/maintain muscle at the same time is with weight training. Dieting alone may lose fat but definitely with a high percentage of muscle weight loss at the same time.
Your body reflects your lifestyle! So to achieve ultimate muscularity with a low body fat you must use your muscles!
Our bodies also adapt to lower caloric intake much more quickly without weight training causing our fat losses to grind to a stuttering halt. These plateaus that are faced at the best of times can demoralize even the most dedicated go-getter.
Another benefit to weight training is being muscular. Having more muscle means burning more calories. This translates into elegance in a few ways. You may eat a little extra or get away with cheating on your diet with your friends.
You may also reach your desired body fat percentage sooner as you are burning more calories.
Therefore it makes logical sense that dieting alone is not the most effective way to reach our desired result. Weight training is a must to truly be elegant.
The Factor that Gives Every Champion a Powerful Edge
Before you go to the gym to be a champion you have to do as a champion! The factor that gives every champion no matter what sport a powerful edge is proper mental preparation before training or competing! It is absolutely crucial to have mentally prepared yourself! The main purpose for this preparation is to have confidence in what you are about to do. As well the time you take to finish your workout is crucial for the success of this program. It will pay you back greatly to know exactly what you are to be doing. The night before every workout rehearse in your mind:
♦ The body parts training. ♦ The exercises performed. ♦ How many sets of each exercise to do. ♦ The amounts of rest between sets. ♦ The pace to keep. ♦ The number of repetitions of each exercise. ♦ The speed to perform repetitions (Gravity Edge). ♦ The specific points in your workout which you predict to be the greatest challenge!
I would like to address the last point as it is one of the keys to really excelling in the gym as well as anything you will ever face! Between me and some of the best athletes I have ever had the opportunity to train with; one thing in common was that there is never an easy body part to train. Every one is a mental odyssey if you are pushing yourself to be your best! With that in mind every workout seemed to have an exercise which would stick out to me the day before. This would be the specific point in my next workout that for me at that time was the greatest challenge. I therefore would put extra mental effort rehearsing this challenge in my mind as to ensure that when the moment comes I was ready! With this extra rehearsal rarely did I disappoint myself! I could on a continual basis meet or exceed the goal that I came to accomplish! I would know that I was ready and did not need to rehearse any more in my mind when I had a feeling of security and confidence over what I was about to perform. It was like I had already lived the moment in real life. My subconscious didn’t know the difference between if I had really done the action or if it was just a mental rehearsal. When it came time to do my workout the next day, it was like I had already done it!
Tips to Eliminate the Most Common Cause of Failure
One of The Most Common reasons many disciples fail is an inability to recognize overtraining. How much training should we do to not waste our recuperation energy/relaxation time as well as get maximum benefit? This is different for every individual but by being aware of some simple personal observations overtraining can be eliminated:
♦ Do you feel enthused towards your training? Or does it feel like a chore? If you hate your training you may be doing too much.
♦ Are you feeling tired and cranky between work outs? If so cut the duration of your training.
♦ Are you getting good blood pumps during your workouts? If not you may be in an over trained state
♦ How is your appetite? Do you have one? If not you may be over-training.
♦ Can you sleep well at night? Restlessness at night or inability to rest because of an elevated pulse rate may be as a result of overtraining.
A Tip To Know The Difference Between Hard Training and Lactic Acid.
There are two different types of stiffness. The first is caused by a build up of lactic acid. The second is from muscle tissue damage and break down. The way you can tell the difference is by the time it takes for you to get stiff. The lactic acid type of stiffness sets in within twelve hours of training. The muscle tissue break down soreness usually takes about twenty four hours to set in. Muscle tissue damage soreness lasts much longer and cannot be flushed away. Though it is more painful this is a good sign. Lactic acid build up can be prevented by eating a higher alkaline diet and/or baking soda before you train. It can be relieved from a brisk walk as outlined below.
What Can You Do If You Have Over Trained Or Feel Absolutely Stiff And It Is Time To Train Again??
♦ Take a hot relaxing bath with Epsom salts and baking soda added to the water. Be careful not to add salts that are binded with aluminum. ♦ Do some extra stretching as well as some light limbering exercise like Tai-Chi or Yoga. ♦ Get a massage. ♦ Make sure to drink lots of clean water. ♦ Try taking an intermittent hot/cold shower alternating the hot and then cold water for thirty second durations. ♦ Do a twenty five minute session of light cardio to work up a sweat and limber yourself up. This is one time when I recommend a little bit of cardio but be careful not to overdo the intensity. Walking at a brisk pace is fine.
How To Accelerate Your Long Term Progress
Do you want to make some extraordinary gains right off the bat? If you are fresh to weight training or have taken an extended lay off, the first two weeks you are in The Gym can set in motion some incredulous gains! You can also set the stage for long term gains if you follow this jealously guarded secret.
In the first few weeks of training assuming you have taken a rest from the weights for a while, do not focus on doing heavy weights but more on proper form and getting comfortable with the motions. Your body will feel awkward at first and this is normal. This awkwardness is your muscles getting used to doing these new movements and the shock from adjusting to your new routine is alone enough for some substantial growth!
So instead of risking injury at this important time by pushing heavy weights concentrate on really good form! Not only will you prevent injury at this time when your muscles are feeling awkward and are open to injury but you will be setting in motion some good patterns for focused muscle growth!
Besides you will be growing just from the initial shock of training so why not take advantage of this? I am sure you have heard veteran body builders and athletes say comments like: “Boy I wish I could get the same kind of results now as when I first started training…”.
Every time you take a little rest from the weights you can take advantage of this period when your muscles have to adapt again which translates into some easier results!
This explains the logic behind the one week lay off every Four Week cycle.
Plus your muscles will be stiff enough from just starting to train again! Too severe muscle trauma could lead to comments from your co – workers asking if you are badly constipated or holding their breath around you as if you crapped yourself!
After the initial shock your body will adapt. At this point you had better start to push yourself! You will have much better form as a result of your “smart training” and actually get more out of less in the long term. You will be able to get more growth out of training with the same weights than if you go in trying to train as heavy as possible right off the bat!
After your body really gets used to training and you see the results you are attaining, I bet you’ll really appreciate that post workout stiffness instead of dread it!
How to Adjust Your Training Weight for Maximum Muscle
We have all heard that heavier weight means bigger muscles. I disagree. This is only true as long as you are working the intended muscles.
This most common misconception is caused by what training with the heaviest weights possible really means. It does not mean the heaviest weight you can move throughout the movement sloppily at any cost. It means the heaviest weight you can move with the intended muscle group(s) with slow deliberate movement. Heavier weight increases the chances of injury as well.
So train with the heaviest weights you can but pretend your worst critic is present watching you. Make sure this critic won’t have not one irritating comment to you when you are finished your set! Train so that you have no doubt in your mind there is not one sacrifice in your form as a result of using too heavy of weights.
What Time of Day Is Best To Train for That Added Edge
Training earlier in the day helps increase muscle gain and fat loss for the following reasons:
♦ I am fresh and able to push myself for best results. ♦ I get my workout over with. ♦ I am most likely to not miss as many workouts. ♦ My body’s metabolism is increased for more hours during the day. This burns more energy (fat) before I go to sleep at night. ♦ I get better nights sleep when I have at least four hours of time between my workout and bed time.
Many people actually have jobs or some commitment they keep that does not allow training sessions early in the day. This is fine and no excuse for not training at all or following an inferior exercise program!
Yes I have seen the benefits of adding this simple little secret to many of my clients’ routine! But do not be discouraged if you happen to get into the gym later on in the day! There have been many detailed physiques built training at pretty well every hour from 5 am in the morning to 4 am in the evening!
How To Increase Your Size and Strength or Fat Loss Each Workout Without Increasing Your Training Weight, Your Amount Of Repetitions Or Your Number Of Sets!
Want to know a powerful edge in your training? An edge that can help increase your muscle growth and strength gains without increasing the amount of weight you train with? How about utilizing this powerful edge to maximize your fat loss with the same amount of reps and sets? You wouldn’t want that would you?
This secret weapon to allow this seemingly magical advantage is time! And you had better get it on your side! By systematically adjusting the time between each set you can maximize the desired result of your workouts!
How to Use This Secret Training Weapon for Gaining Size and Strength
If strength is the goal then measure your rest time between sets by your heart rate. For example if you are doing heavy squats as soon as you are done your set it is going to take you at least three to five minutes for your heart rate to slow back down to your standing heart rate. Once your heart rate is back to your standing heart rate then it is time to do another set. The benefit to measuring time between sets like this is your strength will be recovered as much as possible for your next set without cooling down too much. This method also takes into consideration how good of condition you as an individual are in.
How to Use This Secret Weapon for Gaining Size and Losing Fat
If gaining quality size and losing fat are your primary goals then the best results are achieved by keeping your heart rate and pump high for as long as possible until the workout is done. This is the premise behind The Detailed Physique.
An example of this is to not rest between sets but to do another body part to keep exercising while the muscle you just completed a set with recuperates. So if I was training legs and just finished a set of leg press I may immediately after my set of leg press keep myself in the leg press machine put the locks on and push out a good set of straight legged calf extensions.
A Champions Guarded Method to Know If You Have Done Enough Sets
Your strength is a good gauge of if you are ready to move on to the next body part. When you notice a dramatic drop in the amount of reps you can perform with your 80 percent of maximum weight you have achieved the desired result. For example let’s say you are doing bench press and you are warmed up doing your work sets. You can do 8 repetitions with 100 pound dumbbells. The second work set you can do six repetitions with the same weight. For your third set a fearless struggle only produces four repetitions with the same weight! This is your signal it is time to move on to the next exercise. If you can do more than three work sets without dropping weight you are not pushing yourself hard enough either doing less reps than you could do with that weight or doing less weight than you could do for that amount of reps
How To Make Each Set Pile On The Muscle Chisel Out The Cuts And Pop Out the Veins Like A New York State Road Map!
To really get your desired result out of each brutal set performed you need to adjust your training weight optimally so that the number of repetitions specified in the set produces muscular failure with the weight used. Muscular failure will vary depending on many factors like rest, diet and stress. Doing a low rep strength building set and pumping out twice as many reps as you aimed for just wasted your energy and time! You might as well get off the gym equipment so I can do my super sets uninterrupted!
At the same time aiming for a high reps set of twenty and burning out at twelve is not only just as much a waste it looks like you’re a mental wimp that gave up! Or that you don’t know your own weakness!
Determine your weight of each set by taking the amount of repetitions in the set and adjusting the weight so that you reach failure on or around the last repetition in the set. This may take a little practice but well worth it! For example if you are training sets of ten repetitions the weight you choose should allow you to reach ten repetitions with substantial effort! If you can do twelve or thirteen reps you are ready to increase your weight for the next set. A little trick here is to reduce the speed of your repetitions to increase the intensity of the set if you “accidentally” load too little weight. The reverse of speeding up your repetitions may be a set saver if you are straining a little too much early on in your set! Ahead you will read the secrets to substantial effort called The Psychology of Pain
A Little Secret to Not Waste Your Precious Training Energy Warming Up
Have you ever warmed up enough that you just want to …go home? It is important to warm up thoroughly to avoid a career (workout career) ending injury but at the same time not over do it. Over do it and you aren’t going to be making the progress you could. To get ahead in this game hard focused work is required and without the energy to do your training justice right to the end you might as well learn to play tidily winks!
An adequate warm up would be enough to make the targeted muscle loosen up but not too much to tire you out. Before conducting any weight training, do around 5 minutes of cardiovascular activity like speed walking or riding the bike until you raise your body temperature a little.
This feels like when you are just about to break into a sweat. At this point don’t procrastinate, start your weight workout! With your weight workout, start each separate muscle group with a set of twenty slow paced repetitions to warm up then proceed. For example for chest, do a warm up set of twenty repetitions of Dumbbell Bench Press with fifty pound dumbbells then monitor how you feel? At this point if you feel limber and a little hot from an increased body temperature, start with some heavier training. If you do not notice this symptom do one more set of say twelve to fifteen reps then enter the abyss!
How To Avoid Lacking Energy and Not Feeling like Working Out(Again)
“Today I don’t really feel like working out… I wonder what excuse I can tell my workout partner that He will believe…” It all starts with cheating a little with your diet, a late night burger for a snack, then some bad digestion hampers your rest and morning arrives just when you fall into deep sleep. The tasks in your day are a little more irritating than usual and you lose your cool. An hour later you fell like a real idiot. Under this type of stress you don’t really care about your diet and eat what you feel like. Digestion is sluggish you feel bloated and lethargic, turn on the television to listen to the news headlines; The War has started in Afghanistan. The phone rings, it’s your workout partner calling to go to the gym. This is when thoughts similar to the one above come into your mind.
“I am too tired to workout, I just do not have the energy today…again” This is a trap that many of us are stuck in and are not conscious of. It is all about the choices you make at every moment that determine your energy and stress as well as your joy and successes. The more conscious you can be of the consequences, bad or good, of your decisions, the more empowered to reach your goals.
The Gravity Edge: How To Use Less Weight Achieve Superior Results And Reduce Injury.
Gravity is what resistance training is based on. Gravity is the driving force which creates the resistance required to train your body! So it makes perfect sense to get the most out of working out with weights, you must extract as much benefit possible by being creative with the way you work with gravity. This is what I call The Gravity Edge.
The means by which you work with gravity has to do with manipulating the speed at which you perform the repetitions during various stages of each exercise movement. Each exercise can be broken down into two phases which can be applied to pretty much all resistance training exercises. Phase one is the pushing phase or the phase which is forcing the weight away from the ground to the half way point. Phase two is the returning of the weights from the half way point back to the starting point closest the ground or your body. There are two varieties of phase one applied for our purposes:
Gravity Edge One
1. Raising the weights in a steady paced, timed fashion by counting to a specified number while performing the repetition. An example of this is to count to three while raising the weight and finishing the first phase of the repetition upon reaching the specified number of “three”. The higher the number the slower you will perform the movement.
Gravity Edge Two
2. Accelerating against gravity for the distance traveled by the weight during the first phase. Here the goal is to be pushing the weight as hard as possible creating acceleration from the starting point to the middle point. This is an excellent technique to apply when using light weights as well as medium resistance. I do not think it is practical or required using heavy weights.
On the lowering or returning to the starting position we take our time and feel the muscle as we count to four.
Gravity Edge Two is the competitive edge! It has helped me use less weight to achieve better results with less injury! Be careful as to not lock your joints at the end of the accelerated movement! Near the end of the motion, approaching the half way point, let the weight just “float” into place.
Even when performing cable exercises or machine exercises like nautilus machines for example, you can benefit from applying these powerful principles. If you are doing a cable exercise instead of pushing a barbell or dumbbell away from the ground you are lifting a weight stack.
A Simple Technique To Increase Muscle Growth Strength Definition and Reduce Injury Without Changing Your Workout!
What can you do to optimize your muscle growth your definition and reduce your chance of injury as well as improve strength… with your exact same weight workout every time you workout? The Answer is not some new age pill drug or machine you sit in while you watch T.V. It is much less glamorous than that. Maybe even a little disappointing but at the same time the simplicity is a relief! The answer is properly executed stretches between workout sets! I am an advocate of proper stretching which when executed properly has many wonderful benefits including:
♦ Makes the muscle bellies and tendons less prone to injury. ♦ Prepares the muscle for a harder contraction. ♦ Stretches the fascia around the muscle for a better pump and more growth.
Proper stretching technique is too in depth for the scope of this manual so instead I would like to offer my stretching routine. In the manner I present this I hope it is more beneficial to you than watching a man named Leopold in a fancy leotard! For full benefit stretch the muscle trained between the first set and second set of each exercise performed. Hold each stretch for a count of fifteen to thirty seconds. Any less than fifteen seconds has little benefit.
Optimal benefit is achieved by stretching in a progressive manner where you constantly but gently push/stretch into your maximum stretch. For example when stretching the hamstrings by touching your toes, attempt to stretch yourself gently further for the full count of fifteen to thirty seconds. When you can not comfortably stretch the intended muscle any further hold this maximum position until finished. Do not risk injury! If at any time you feel too much burning ease carefully out of the uncomfortable position. Never perform any jerky movements while stretching. It is beneficial to stretch with a partner who can help safely push your stretch a little further than what you can by yourself.
The Weight Training Secrets Only Injury Can Teach
Over the years excruciatingly painful and frustrating injury has taught me a serious lesson…what movements are more prone to cause injury. This next section is information that you just don’t find in your neighbourhood gym! You don’t read about it very often in magazines. Preventing injury articles just don’t sell supplements or fancy spandex workout leotards with superman emblems on them! Once you sustain a career threatening injury it is too late! Even if you just slightly injure yourself or degrade a knee joint or a shoulder, these painful nagging problems just plainly make working out not that enjoyable for you! So I really feel it for you if it is too late and hopefully I can prevent a nasty injury somewhere for someone with this section. If you can avoid even one potential injury the price of this book will seem like peanuts! If you feel this way don’t holdback your feelings of joy…you can always send me a few more bucks!
Here is a list of movements to avoid and what to replace them with. These replacement movements have been well thought out to ensure that you don’t lose any benefits from a vanity point of view! Muscle growth is equal or better and without the guarantee of injury!
Replace Barbell Movements With Dumbbell Exercises
The fixed grip positions of barbell movements tend to place unnecessary stress on the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Dumbbells allow freedom for your unique body mechanics and also require muscle stimulating balancing as they are not fixed to one plane of motion.
Here is a list of exercises I replace with dumbbell movements:
Barbell Movement Replacement Heavy Barbell Curls Dumbbell Curls Upright Barbell Rows Dumbbell Side Laterals/Shrugs Heavy Flat Barbell Bench Dumbbell Bench Press Press Behind the Neck Shoulder Dumbbell Shoulder Press Press Barbell Bent Rows Dumbbell Bent Rows
Use a Parallel Grip For Chin Ups Instead of a Palms Facing Out Grip
When you perform chin ups especially with a wider grip use a grip where your palms are facing inwards towards each other. There is much less stress placed on the shoulders in this position and less likelihood of injury.
Eliminate Upright Rows Entirely
Upright rowing is extremely hard on your rotator cuff and if performed for any length of time is a ticket for shoulder degeneration. Side Laterals, Pressing movements and Shrugs train all the same muscles.
Perform Movements Which You Are Handling Very Heavy Weights Last In Your Body Part Workout.
Performing movements which you have achieved great strength last in your workout will increase your strength and minimize the chance of injury. By pre- exhausting the muscle with exercises you are weaker in you can focus on your weak movements and at the same time pre - exhaust your stronger movements thus eliminating the need to use heavy injury risking weights. An example of this would be when I was strength training in the early nineties I achieved a squat with four hundred and ninety five pounds for five good repetitions. At this point, as progress was slow, I stopped doing squats first in my leg workout but instead did my stiff leg dead lifts first.
The pre – exhaustion I achieved training my hamstrings first would make it impossible to squat nearly five hundred pounds! Now squatting four hundred and five pounds was very difficult for six repetitions! I shocked my hamstrings hard this way because I trained them while fresh at the beginning of my workout. More stress was placed on my quadriceps using less weight because my quadriceps had to help my fatigued hamstrings finish each grueling repetition! Using the lighter squatting weight also minimized the chances of injuring my knees or lower back!
Be Careful With Parallel Bar Dips
Parallel Bar Dips are hard on the shoulder joints. If you have any shoulder pains or have gained a lot of weight, eliminate Dips permanently. If you have never had any problems with this exercise I recommend you still perform them near the end of your workout when you are thoroughly warmed up and never add extra resistance! A decent substitute is the Decline Press Hammer Strength Machine or Decline Dumbbell Press.
Eliminate Lat Pull Downs to the Back Of The Neck
Cable Lat Pull Downs to the back of the neck are very stressful to the shoulder joints because of the weight the latissimus dorsi muscles are capable of pulling and the awkward position. If you are to perform the occasional set do higher repetitions with lighter weight and focus more on the rhomboids (the muscles around your shoulder blades) by leaning backwards a little. A good substitution exercise that immensely targets the rhomboids is Bent over Shrugs.
Eliminate Dumbbell and Barbell Pullovers
Pullovers are strenuous on your shoulder joint and should be eliminated before you experience any shoulder pains. There is little evidence pullovers help expand the rib cage. Pullovers are a good exercise for developing your Latissimus (muscles that widen your back). Instead of pullovers on a bench I perform various types of chin ups to train the same area much more effectively. If you want to still perform pullovers do so immediately after a set of Chin Ups or Lat Pull Downs and use a lighter weight that does not stress the shoulder joints as much.
Do Not Use Too Wide Of A Grip For Any Pressing Movements
Using too wide of a grip has no advantage to impressing any extra stress on the outer pectorals or widening your shoulders. The only extra stress a wider grip is good for is on degeneration of your shoulder joint! For optimal grip width when performing any shoulder or bench press movement just put your arms straight out naturally in front of you.
Do Not Do Any Chest Movements That Lower The Barbell To Your Neck.
Bench Pressing to the upper neck or higher than below your clavicle does not place any extra emphasis on your upper pectorals. This type of insanity only places extra strain on your shoulder joint capsule and tendons. Instead use an incline on your bench and lower the bar just below your collar bone and just above your nipples.
Perform Specialization Training On Your Rotator Cuffs
Training your Rotator Cuffs is one of the best investments you can make for your Longetivity in the gym. The Rotator Cuff is a system of four muscles in your shoulder responsible for rotating your arm from side to side and stabilizing the shoulder. Proper Rotator Cuff training is essential to prevent injury as well as improve your shoulder development. There are two exercises I recommend for properly training you rotator cuffs
♦ Internal Cable Pulls ♦ External Cable Pulls
These movements are performed by putting your arm in a position like you are to shake someone’s hand. Then move your elbow back against the side of your torso. Now use your shoulder blades to pull your shoulders back as far as possible without strain. Next move your hand holding a cable from a low pulley with a light weight from side to side. The movement is similar to having an arm wrestle except your elbow is against your torso just above your hip bone. To stress the external rotator cuff have the inside of your arm and body closest to the pulley. To stress the internal rotator cuff have the outside of you body closest to the pulley. Perform equal repetitions for both. This movement should be felt only in your Rotator Cuff in your shoulder. Use light weights for this exercise and concentrate on higher repetition ranges from twenty to thirty.
The Jealously Guarded Secrets To Transforming Weak Body Parts into Incredible Genetics!
Isn’t it hell to have a lagging body part? I have seen many clients get into a rut where they would rather deny the existence of weak body parts then to remedy the problem with hard training. Let’s look at some tips to implement into The Four Week Plan that can make your weak body parts shine as soon as possible!
♦ If you have more than one weak body part, specialize on only one at a time! This would mean if you are training full body workouts as in the first week of the Four Week Plan then only specialize on one body part. If you are in one of the other weeks which train the full body over a week’s period then you can specialize for a different body part every day.
♦ Smaller body parts can be trained more frequently than big body parts. Smaller muscles have less muscle fiber to heal after a traumatizing training session allowing full recovery to take place faster. Therefore smaller body parts like biceps and calves may be worked more frequently than large muscles! The Four Week Plan takes this into consideration by working each muscle as often as possible without over training. This is accomplished by varying the resting time between training sessions according to the muscle being trained. For example Biceps are trained a maximum of three times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. Legs, the largest muscle group, are trained once a week.
♦ Train your weak body part first when your energy is highest!
♦ Superset your weak body part in with other body parts to add extra sets in the same amount of time. An example of this would be if you have weak calves’ superset in an extra set or two with leg training sets. To demonstrate this, do a set of Squats then while your legs are recuperating instead of flexing in front of the gym mirror or talking with your friends do a set of Seated Calf Raises!
♦ The day after you train a weak body part do a high repetition flushing set during the next day workout. So if your chest is weak the day after you train it pick a chest exercise (does not matter which one , but I would prefer you do one that emphasizes your whole chest like Flyes) and do a set of thirty light slow repetitions pumping out the lactic acid and increasing blood flow to the muscle area.
♦ Review your form for the muscle group in question by following the good form principles in this guide and when lowering the weight really concentrate on feeling the muscle exerting itself!
A Note About Spot Reduction
Spot reduction is the term for losing fat in a focused area on the body. The lower back and rear of the thighs are two of the most troubled areas that spot reduction is commonly attempted for. I say attempted because spot reduction is not possible. Fat is a source of energy that is stored according to genetics, hormones, sex, body fat levels and age. These factors determine where you will deposit fat stores and how easily. These factors also determine where you will burn off the fat and how much effort it will take not any mythical formula for spot reduction. This is why men and women have different fat deposit patterns. Typically men tend to store more fat around the waist and women on the lower thighs. When body fat percentage levels are dropped it is as a result of your body as a whole requiring energy. Exercising a certain body part does not burn fat in the area being exercised but rather uses the most efficient means your body can supply for energy. If you have properly manipulated your diet and training, fat can be used for energy instead of glucose. Sadly the rule of thumb is the most troubled fatty areas are the last to go. So if you are troubled with a thick love handle or cellulite on the back of your thighs you will most likely have to drastically reduce your body fat levels to noticeably affect the problem area.
The Underground Secret Psychology of Pain
Use pain to maximize your gains! A simple change in perspective that will change you forever
One of the greatest assets you have to really succeed is the feeling of pain. By pain I am referring to the good stuff that you get when your muscles are challenged to their maximum not the pain of an injury!
When in the gym I have noticed most people interpret pain in a negative way. As soon as exercising gets a little uncomfortable Joe average will look at this as a reason to discontinue his set, take a rest then start up again. If only Joe knew his pain is the key to entering The Inner Circle and creating his ideal body in the least amount of time! By not staying in the pain zone you are selling yourself short like Jim Carey in The Majestic!
Pain is a sensation most of us do not look forward to experiencing but how we look at pain is the key to really excelling! It is the difference between being great and just being average! Those of us who can work through the pain of a hard set are those of us that make the greatest leaps in progress and experience far fewer morale breaking plateaus. As a matter of fact your ability to tolerate pain may be the single most important factor in reaching your goals! Is it that some people have higher tolerance to pain and therefore are less hampered by it?
Possibly, but I definitely feel the pain of a hard set! It’s similar to being tortured by a team of sadists trying to get into the Guinness book of World Records for greatest torturers!
I have come up with a few tips that can actually make you crave the feeling of pain! You will now cherish the pain enough to want to have as much of it as possible during every last repetition performed! Start looking forward to entering the pain zone because as far as I am concerned a set does not even start until you feel the burn!
Painful Tips To Rehearse Before A Real Workout:
♦ Pain means progress. I have achieved my goals. ♦ The more I can sustain the pain during my set the more I am achieving in my workout. ♦ Pain fulfills my purpose. It signals that I have reached my goal. ♦ Pain makes me confident I am pushing myself to the required levels needed to succeed! ♦ Pain assures me I am getting the most out of my workout in the least amount of time! ♦ The pain helps me target where I am putting my training energy, where on my body is benefiting right now and is this where I intended?
. Your perspective must be one of success when you reach these pain points. The sensation of pure purposeful torture on your muscles signals that you are succeeding in achieving what you have come to do! Feel great about yourself and confident you have created the necessary stress to trigger maximum muscle growth progress! This does not mean to produce the same types of stress on yourself day after day. Vary the types of stress thus forcing more adaptation with fewer plateaus. An example would be high repetitions versus giant sets with heavier weights as in The Four Week Plan.
Now That you are conscious of this secret, when you don’t push yourself hard enough to reach these levels you may feel like you have wasted a workout! Get to really know the underground secret of The Psychology of Pain! Avoid leaving the gym with that empty haunting feeling! And the next time you take the easy route it will propel you to make the right choices next time you have the chance putting forth your best efforts and not wimping out your next workout opportunity!
The Truth About Training to Failure
Training to failure is a term that has been popular for many years in weight training circles. It is what “real “body builders do and it is also the biggest excuse given when you do not make results. When you do not make any progress it is never the supplements that are in question! It is usually because “you do not train hard enough!” The truth is that training to failure is an intangible. How can you really gauge if training to failure is making you progress? One day you may be feeling a little tired from staying up all night or be distracted by trouble at work. You still train to failure that day but because of your pre workout circumstances, you fail before you reach the targeted work volume required to achieve your daily goal! You still trained to failure but came up way short!
Do not gauge your progress on intangibles like if you felt like you are training as hard as you can or to “failure”. Base your progress on the solid evidence and physics proven by increasing each workouts volume and decreasing the time to finish!
Secrets To Success Usually Left Out of The Conversation
Well is it not all about lifestyle? Being fit is a lifestyle that does not end when you leave the gym! It is not only about what you eat either! It is a way of life that influences every choice you make every moment of your time here on this planet! The eating part is covered and so is the training aspect but what about in between? The in between stuff is equally responsible to your success! This is the missing link that if your not around you are usually not informed of! Let’s look at some other aspects of leading a healthy lifestyle!
How To Improve The Most Enjoyable Part Of Any Routine
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this regimen is quality rest!
Practice These Tips for Consistent Quality Rest
Consistent quality rest equals good muscle gains! The following tips promote a good night’s sleep:
♦ Resolve unfinished business in your life. ♦ When you say you are going to do something today finish it before bed time. Be a person who does what you say. ♦ Strive to eliminate any situations that create stress for you. ♦ Do not exercise or exert yourself too much for two to three hours before bed. ♦ Do not stuff yourself before bed time. ♦ Do not drink alcohol. ♦ Do not smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco. ♦ Stay away from colas with caffeine or drinking coffee. ♦ Stay away from clenbuteral and aspirin/ephedrine/caffeine supplements. ♦ Don’t waste your time and energy on activities or people that drain you. ♦ Get to sleep before Ten P.M. for minimal cortisone build - up ♦ Sleep in as dark an atmosphere as possible. Night lights can prevent optimal melatonin production. .
The Crucial Secret that Turns Your Body Into An Anabolic Environment!
Releasing stress and/or dealing with it properly is crucial for sustaining our Longetivity, our health and for gaining muscle and losing fat. Our levels of stress are directly related to how much cortisone our bodies produce. Cortisone is an anti-catabolic hormone which has its purposes but contradicts our goals of gaining muscle if our bodies’ levels of cortisone are too high.
Anabolic Vs Catabolic
Our bodies have anabolic hormones and catabolic hormones. Our greatest progress in the gym will occur when there is a high ratio of anabolic hormones to catabolic hormones. This is one of the main mechanisms creating the benefits of using steroids especially after the first two weeks. The reason why Steroid monkeys must increase their dosage to continue to get results is because their bodies increase the amount of catabolic hormones to correspond to the increased amount of stress and anabolic hormones. Avoid creating any negative circumstances or worrisome situations that affect your conscience. When one has worry in the back of their minds, blood cortisone levels rise. Reducing your stress means real progress! When you do have a stressful situation deal with it, do not avoid it!
The Secret to Being A Real Champion
What good is it to only look good with no inner substance or core? A true Champion is much more than just a pretty face or in this case a better body! To really be a true winner lead by example and practice a healthy lifestyle that corresponds with the way you look! When you feel good about yourself it shows on the outside as well!!
Lead a healthy life style:
♦ Don’t smoke. ♦ Don’t eat junk alone in your closet at night. ♦ Participate in your life fully. ♦ Do not gossip ♦ Tell yourself the truth and others as well. ♦ Practice kindness and humility. ♦ Keep your alcoholic beverages down to one night a week or less. ♦ Practice what you preach. ♦ Spend your time doing the things in life you enjoy. ♦ Hang around productive people who want you to succeed and have succeeded themselves.
♦ Apply your training and diet will power to other aspects of your life! Be well rounded don’t give body builders any worse of a reputation than they already have! ♦ Be forgiving of your mistakes and forgive others as well. ♦ Be accountable and responsible for your actions. ♦ Be thankful for what you have today!
The Secret to Good Luck!
When you are thankful for what you have today you will gain more for tomorrow! How could you really expect to be given more than what you have presently if you are not grateful for what you have right now! Upon my daily travels I make a conscious effort to continuously be thankful and honored to have what has been given to me. Whether it is the opportunity to do what I love or whether it is the presence of good friendships and people who care for me. I am thankful! This is truly in my opinion one of the most important keys to happiness and success! As a matter of fact I am thankful you are reading my book!
Continue To Learn About Your Mind Body And Spirit!
There is always more to learn! Take what you learn a step further and apply your knowledge to your life to really live like the script of a great movie!
Section Summary
1. Warm–up thoroughly to prevent injury. 2. Stretch between sets as outlined. 3. Eliminate exercises that have a high risk potential for Longetivity. 4. You are better to under train than to over train. 5. Be conscious of the symptoms of overtraining. 6. Prepare yourself mentally before you train for much greater progress! 7. Use weights that do not sacrifice your form. 8. Use the Gravity Edge Principles to make the most out of your training. 9. Remember the importance of consistent quality rest! 10. Pain is not the enemy! On the contrary the proper type of pain is a signal that you are doing what it takes to succeed! 11. Eliminate stress from your life for accelerated progress. 12. Be thankful for what you have in life! 13. Lead a healthy lifestyle to really maximize your progress.
Section Seven - The Art Of Immaculate Concentration
The Secrets to Getting The Most Out Of Every Popular Exercise
Sadly more people innocently waste their energy than make progress day in and day out as hard efforts and precious time is invested into no return! It is no wonder in 2002 millions of people will desperately blow their hard earned money on snake oils or quit trying altogether to get in shape! It personally took me over ten years to truly be effective with my workouts! If it wasn’t for a burning desire and an attitude that would not settle for anything but success I too would have been a casualty! I had read all the information I could get my hands on and imitated fellow athletes whom I admired in my quest to elegantly get in the best shape I could in as short a time as possible. But some areas just lagged behind and I didn’t know why? What was missing? Thankfully I discovered it was my ability to practice The Art of Immaculate Concentration!
The Most Overlooked Detail to Achieving a Beautiful Body In Record Time
One of the most overlooked challenges to body shaping is the ability to effectively target the muscles you are training at any given moment. The natural instinct of your body’s muscular skeleton is to use the easiest most effective means of moving a weight from point A to point B. This gets complicated as when you are just starting to weight train a mind to muscle link has not been developed strong enough to make the targeted muscle do as much of the work as possible. For example when doing Barbell Curls a natural means of curling the barbell is to use your torso to swing as well as your elbows at the shoulder to create momentum instead of purely lifting with the biceps alone. Another example would be to use the shoulders and triceps to perform a Bench Press instead of only the pectorals or chest. This is a common topic for gym gossip! How many times have you heard a few guys embarrassingly gossiping with comments like” Oh Johnny has bad form! “ Or” He cheats a lot! That’s why he can do more weight than me! “ “Any body can do that much weight by doing such poor reps!”
There is much more required to train a muscle impeccably than just going through the motions. Unless a concentrated effort is made to create a powerful mind to muscle link many years of hard sweat can be useless towards building a beautiful body!
Some people naturally have good form from the beginning in one or two exercises. There is always room for improvement!
I personally went for many years until I got the real hang of effectively training my back and my biceps! My chest was a battle as well! As a matter of fact my calves were painstakingly difficult to get the hang of and so were my abdominals!
Geeze, I had a tough time with my hamstrings too! You see what I mean! I thought I knew it all and there was no secret to proper exercise form and technique but boy was I wrong! Am I ever glad I stuck it out over the years and kept working towards optimal form! I admit it still is definitely a challenge to keep the concentration required throughout the whole set, repetition through another painful repetition! And just as gratifying when I am done as the first time! Actually even better!
The secret to really getting the most out of every exercise is your concentration and familiarity with that particular muscle. Experimentation really helps too as well as just plain going through the motions until it clicks for you too!
I have helped a lot of people get that clicking into place much faster than it took me by going through the exercises as I am going to for you! So let’s get started!
How to Build Your Mind to Muscle Link to Extract All You Can Out Of Every Rep!
Every moment of every repetition, the better you can put your mind and consciousness into the muscle(s) being worked; the more you will achieve in the littlest time!
Concentrate on keeping tension in the targeted muscle at all times. As soon as you feel the tension let off focus on bringing it on again. I achieve this by really paying close attention to the muscle I am training at all times. To do this:
♦ Train where you will not be distracted by well meaning friends or anything else that could ruin your concentration. ♦ Use your warm up sets to build your mind to muscle link as training with a light weight will allow you to focus on your form more effectively. ♦ Train slowly using Gravity Edge Principle One. This will allow you to immediately realize if the stress on the targeted muscle is relieved. ♦ At the very moment you are aware that the tension has decreased on the targeted muscle pause at that point in the repetition to figure out why the tension has been relieved. ♦ Adjust your form to at all times have maximum tension throughout the movement or repetition.
Linking Your Mind to Your Muscles To Develop Quality without Quantity.
My concern for wasting my energy and avoiding the performance of endless repetitions to no avail, has led me to unconsciously develop my Mind to Muscle Link. Using the mind to perform an exercise to effectively extract the maximum amount of stress on the targeted muscle will result in much better results in less time than performing endless amounts of mindless repetitions. This in a nutshell summarizes Mind to Muscle Quality over Quantity. If working the biceps for example, when I perform a Dumbbell Curl, I put my awareness totally in the bicep muscle I am working. I notice the tension throughout the rep and when tension decreases I take note why and hone in my form to increase the tension as much as possible at that moment. This type of attention to detail requires concentration and focus. It requires a familiarity with the muscle that is being worked and its range of motion.
Limiting Your Range Of Motion Can Make Your Progress Limitless!
Some exercise movements may require limited range of motion to truly focus on the muscle being tested. For example, when performing a Dumbbell Flye, at the point where your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to the floor (dumbbells above the chest), there is little tension being transferred to the pectoral (chest) muscle. At this point to maximize the stress on the chest muscle and your progress get back into a position that puts maximum tension possible into the chest. Either use isometric tension, by flexing the chest as hard as possible or decrease the range of motion by returning the dumbbells to the starting point of the exercise, resisting the temptation of resting. Pay attention to the point in the repetition that the tension is relieved during the movement and limit your range of motion to not succeed this point during your future repetitions. By personalizing your exercise form like this you can achieve better results by limiting the range of motion.
A tip to break out of training plateaus while training over fifty percent of your one repetition maximum is to limit the range of motion to the portion of the exercise being performed that is your strongest point. Otherwise do not do full range of motion just for the sake that you have been told this is the best way to train! Do partial movement only in the portion of the exercise that you are strongest! This is beneficial because: You can train you heaviest. You can progress in weight faster. Less chance of injury as you are not putting unnatural strain on your tendons and ligaments. You can do more work.
The above factors combined can help you to break out of training plateaus and gain strength much faster…simply by limiting your range of motion to the strongest portion of the repetition!
Do not lock your joints on any arm or leg movement. This causes injury by taking tension from the muscle and placing it in the joint. Instead hold the muscle fully flexed with a slight bend in the joint then slowly begin motion again.
Attention to detail is the secret to getting the most out of your training!
A Tip To Help You Focus In The Gym
I don’t like to be disturbed when I am training. With the amount of focus required to really get the most out of every rep, hearing another conversation or someone making comments to me is counterproductive! Whether of a camaraderie type nature or that of a challenge I avoid distractions by wearing head phones when I train. This way I am in control whether I choose to listen to someone or not! If I want to listen I will not have any heavy music pumping!
Listening to your definition of good music, something that gets you motivated and excited really can improve focus. Workout after workout that little bit of extra effort will start to show itself by allowing you to reach your goals much sooner than you expected!
Prepare Yourself Mentally Before Each Set For Accelerated Progress!
Before I start any set I go through a little ritual which always gets my mind and body prepared for the training odyssey I am about to endure!
♦ I get in position to start the exercise. ♦ I close my eyes. ♦ I take a deep breath with my diaphragm pulling the air into the bottom of my lungs. ♦ I imagine pulling the oxygen from my lungs and into the muscles I am training! Supersaturating them with inhuman power! ♦ I speed up my breaths nearly hyperventilating then go for it! ♦ It’s do or die! ♦ I never grunt while performing my set or make noises like a constipated man with haemorrhoids!
I strive to challenge the depths of my soul as every set reveals a little more about who I am and what I am about! I never leave the gym feeling I didn’t give my best effort!
Let’s walk through an exercise for each body part, to explain how to get the most out of every movement you perform!
Chest
Chest: Barbell or Smith Supine Bench Press.
The point of the Bench Press is to train the pectorals major and/ minor, not impress your buddies. When performing a set of Barbell Bench Press alternating between a decline, flat and incline angle can help to shock new growth into your chest. Lower the bar between the nipples and below the collarbone. Do not attempt to break the Bench Press record every time, instead concentrate on your chest muscles using the maximum weight that allows the completion in good form the desired number of repetitions. Start with a lightweight and do slow deliberate repetitions, focusing on the chest at all times. A spotter to help lift the bar off the rack can reduce the stress placed on the rotator cuffs when using heavier weights. Use a grip width that is comfortable, not too wide or narrow, just as wide as if putting your arms naturally above the head then lowering your arms to the front. You may experiment with a thumb less grip as well. A thumb less grip tends to put less strain on the wrists allowing better concentration and focus while using more challenging poundage’s.
Assuming you have lifted the bar off the rack and are now holding it above your chest, strive to get the most out of every inch of movement. This again means feeling the most stress possible at all times in the chest. The first method of achieving this is to fight gravity. Obviously gravity is pulling the weight down so lower the weight slowly. The lighter the weight used the slower you lower the weight. Keep this reasonable, for your high rep days (25 reps) practice a count of four or five before the weight touches your chest to establish a good pace. Keeping this pace all the way to the 25th rep is not for sissies! When you try it a few times you will realize why you do not need to do endless sets! Experiment with the distance your elbows are from your torso. Also experiment with at what angle your arms are to your torso as you lower the barbell. The purpose is to find where you feel the most tension in your chest. Again do not do anything that feels like a bad stress, otherwise stressful on your joints or ligaments. Now that the barbell is touching your chest, feel the stretch in the pectorals, if you are using a lightweight push up slowly putting your consciousness in your chest. As soon as the tension is relieving, you are probably starting to use your triceps and/or shoulders. At this point pause, flex your chest, and then begin to lower the bar to avoid locking your elbows thus resting the chest. Be conscious to avoid jerky motions that deteriorate your ligaments and joints. Continue to finish the set in this fashion. To the bystander your form is an art. Do not yell like an idiot either even near the end of the set. Also wear under-wear under your gym shorts to avoid revolting your fellow gym members with the sight of your genitals! Pay attention as to not arch your back unnaturally either.
Favourite Training Methods For Pectorals
♦ Drop sets ♦ Giant sets ♦ High repetition training
Upper Chest Exercises
♦ Smith Machine Incline Press ♦ Incline Hammer Strength Press ♦ Incline Dumbbell or Cable Flyes ♦ Straight Arm Parallel Bars Straight Arm Shrugs
When it comes to training the chest the angle of your torso affects what area is primarily stressed. Therefore an incline will train the upper chest; a flat bench will stress the major pectorals or lower and outer chest. Exercise caution when deciding how much weight you use to train the upper chest. Using too heavy of a weight will force the pectorals major to take over eliminating the stress on the pectorals minor or upper chest. This is because the upper and lower chests are not really upper and lower. The upper chest is underneath the pectorals major near your collar bone!
The application of Gravity Edge Principle Number Two is an excellent method to effectively place as much stress on the upper chest while using a weight that utilizes the pectorals major as little as possible.
Maximize Your Results By Executing Proper Grip Width
Proper grip width when performing Barbell exercises for your chest can ensure you to get the most out of every repetition. Too wide of a grip as well as too narrow of a grip transfers the weight loads more into the triceps and shoulders. Proper grip width also helps to avoid unnecessary strain on the shoulders. To elegantly maximize the amount of stress placed on the pectorals use a grip that is natural for your body by putting your arms straight up in front of you with a ninety degree angle between your chest and arms. This should be natural and very comfortable. Except for the energy you need to hold your arms up there should be no strain!
If you want to experiment with grip width from your natural comfortable position either narrow or widen your grip ever so slightly and see if you notice the variance in the stress to your chest. A wider grip may place a little more stress on the outer chest and a narrower grip may place a little more emphasis on the inner chest.
Flyes
Flyes are one of the exercises that I always see people do wrong! Here is a moment by moment walk through of a repetition of The Flyes exercise done properly.
First off do not try to do really heavy weight with this exercise! It is not meant to be a power movement! Though training heavy with Flyes is possible, the chances of injury are greatly increased! Too heavy of a weight also can result in pressing the weight instead of the proper motion that mimics hugging a barrel or flying like a bird! Leave the heavy weights for the insecure guys!
Start out by sitting up right on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand sitting on your legs, your hands comfortable, palms facing each other. Lean back onto the bench then move the dumbbells carefully into position as if you are about to perform a press thumbs pointing inwards towards each other. Hold your hands much wider than for a typical press. You should feel an immense stretch in your chest. Your elbow joint should be at between a forty five and ninety degree angle. Adjust your elbows as far back towards your head as you comfortably can your thumbs will naturally point slightly away from your head.. From this position use your chest to start slowly lifting your elbows while twisting your thumbs towards your head and your palms to face each other. Your elbows will be getting closer to each other. The dumbbells will be lifting up now your elbow joint straightening slightly putting minimal stress on your triceps. At this time your arms will slightly straighten but not enough to lock your arm in a straight position. Your elbows will twist at a slow speed so that by the time you start to feel the tension decrease on your chest your thumbs will be pointing outwards with the dumbbells now over your lower chest.
Concentrate on your chest here creating the maximum tension possible by purposefully flexing. Begin to carefully return into the stretched out starting position.
To put more stress on the outer chest place the dumbbells over your stomach and hold this position before returning to the stretched out starting position. For women this is not practical as you will gain the most visual results by flexing the dumbbells together over your head.
Remember to really watch for being lazy at the middle position where you put the dumbbells at their closest together! This is where I see little breaks from the tension being taken! Again keep the tension as great as you can throughout the movement! If you feel the gravity start to decrease as you are at the top of the movement flex your chest harder!
Back: Exercises for Thickening The Back
The unique challenge of back training most responsible for so many underdeveloped back muscles is the inability to see the muscles being trained. Therefore success in developing the back is completely related to how strong of a mind to muscle link you can develop.
How to Create an Unbreakable Link Between Your Mind and Your Back
Before you do any exercises with your back, stand up straight with your shoulders back. Now squeeze together your shoulder blades trying your best to touch them together. Hold this position and mentally take note of where you feel the tension? Now push your squeezed together shoulder blades down towards the floor as best as you naturally can. Again squeeze your shoulder blades together from this position and really feel where you have stress in your back? Mentally take note of what you are doing. This is the feeling you want during every back thickening repetition. This type of awareness will develop your back in the shortest amount of time possible. Next shrug your shoulders forward by concentrating on widening the gap between your shoulder blades. You are now at the starting point for maximizing your range of motion used to train your back most effectively. A very minor amount of the potential stress is placed on the back muscles if every repetition is performed by utilizing the biceps to pull the weight towards your body instead of the muscles you have just used to move your shoulder blades. This explains why exceptional back development eludes most people even after years of performing exercises like bent over rowing or dumbbell and cable rowing. Again repeat squeezing your shoulder blades together then pulling them apart from each other as much as you comfortably can several times to get the feel and hang of using these muscles! Before long you will create a very solid mind to muscle link and at the same time a beautifully developed back!
The leading common mistakes to be conscious of that prohibit effective back development are attempting to use too much weight and/or using other muscles besides your back’s to do the work! The muscles most likely to perform the bulk of the workload when training your back are the biceps and the lower back. The lower back may prevent upper back development by means of a dangerous swinging movement of the torso like an upside down pendulum!
Make sure your back is in its strongest position that is least prone to injury. This position is the same position you use when lifting a heavy box off the ground! Do not hunch forward or bend your back too far to the rear! Keep your back straight, your chest sticking out and your shoulders pressed back.
Now sit down on the cable rowing machine bench. Have your back in its strongest position as described above. Put your arms forward and spread your shoulder blades apart.
Grab the handle grip attached to the cable. Right now hold the cable rowing grip with your shoulders forward, your arms straight at the elbows, your chest concaved and your back straight up and down.
Now without swinging your lower back, very slowly using Gravity Edge Principle One, move your shoulder blades as close together as you can while simultaneously sticking your chest out.
When you can no longer squeeze your shoulder blades any closer together keep the tension holding your shoulder blades together and slowly without swinging at the lower back bring the bar to your lower rib cage! I prefer to use a long straight bar or rope for Cable Rows as opposed to the usual close parallel grip handle because it is easier to squeeze the shoulder blades together at the fully contracted portion of the repetition thus extracting more back building benefits. Hold this position and feel what muscles are doing the work? You should at this point feel the identical muscles as when you performed the exercise above to create the mind to muscle link to your back. Concentrate fully placing your total consciousness in your back! Now slowly, while still holding your shoulder blades tight and as close together as you comfortably can, lengthen your arms to the fully extended position. If you are doing this right your elbows will not lock but have a little bit of bend in them.
Hold this position and then gradually let the tension off of your shoulder blades letting your shoulders move forward into the start position.
During your daily routines practicing moving your shoulder blades will help to perfect this movement.
A variation of cable rowing that can help to develop your back is to lean forwards when performing each repetition. Do not swing at your lower back but keep leaning forward throughout the movement. You will need to lower the weight when attempting this but just notice the stress in your back! Amazing! You cannot cheat in this position!
Favourite Back Thickness Training Methods
♦ Drop sets ♦ Pausing during various points during repetition ♦ Giant sets
Back Thickening Exercises
♦ T-Bar Rowing ♦ Seated Cable Rowing ♦ One Arm Cable Rowing. ♦ Bent Over Barbell And Dumbbell Rows ♦ Bent Over Shrugs ♦
Back: A Strong Mind To Muscle Link for Maximum Width
Exercises that increase the width of the back include any exercise which primarily uses the Latissimus Dorsi muscles. Examples of these exercises are Chin-ups and Cable Lat Pull Downs to the Front of the neck. Go to the Cable Pull Down Machine and lower the chair as close to the ground as possible. If your gym has a good Pull Down Machine, when you sit down on the seat and reach for the bar with your bum on the seat, there should be enough stretch to enable your arms to be straight and your shoulders shrugged upwards as high as comfortably possible.
This is the starting position. To practice this movement without the Lat Pull Down Bar put your arms above your head and push your hands up as high as you can using only your shoulders. Concentrate on the area just below your shoulders or the part of your back just behind your arm pits. You may want to rotate putting one hand at a time on the opposite side of your body while pushing up to feel the muscles that are to be stressed. This will help develop a strong mind to muscle link. Now sit yourself in the Cable Lat Pull Down apparatus and put your hands on the bar above your head. Keep your arms straight but do not lock your elbows. Perform a shrug like movement but pulling down instead of up.
When you cannot pull down any more without bending your elbows hold this position and feel your back. Your shoulders have moved towards the floor as much as you comfortably can and cannot move down any more. You should feel tension in the outer part of your back on the sides around your arm pits! Mentally take note of where you feel the tension at this point to instantly create a strong mind to muscle link.
Now pull the bar down to your chin a little away from your body.
Hold this position mentally feeling the location of the maximum muscle tension. Next let up a little on your resistance allowing your arms to slowly straighten again and your shoulders to move into the start position.
A tip that helps rapidly to strengthen this mind to muscle link is to perform at the end of your set a few shrug only type repetitions with your arms straight like the beginning of the movement. Instead of lowering the bar to your chin just use your back to move your shoulders carefully and in control up and down!
Favourite Latissimus Training Methods
♦ Giant sets ♦ Drop sets ♦ Do as many sets as it takes to reach a desired amount of repetitions(e.g. 50 chin ups)
Back Widening Exercises
♦ Chin-Ups ♦ Cable Pull Downs ♦ Cable Pull Down Shrugs ♦ Hanging Shrugs on a Chin Up Bar.
Shoulders: Developing a Mind to Muscle Link for Maximum Width
Shoulder training very much is an exercise of the mind as a slip in your concentration will probably end up in you training your trapezius instead! Since the shoulders are worked by every upper body exercise from Bench Pressing to Barbell Rowing, a good shoulder workout focuses on lateral movements and some pressing above the head. For shoulder lateral movements including Side Dumbbell laterals, Rear Dumbbell Laterals, and Front Deltoid Laterals, start with very light dumbbells (five or ten pounds). The biggest mistake I correct with shoulder training is the use of too much weight! When too much weight is attempted many of the muscles surrounding the shoulders perform the lateral movements. The actual deltoid muscle itself is hardly stimulated. Instead the trapezius, rhomboids and torso alleviate the stress from the deltoids which defeats the purpose! Many people get into this habit and push to increase their weights but are stunned when their shoulders do not grow. This is the reason! Start with a light weight to learn the feel of properly working the deltoids and focus on form. Better shoulder width is developed by increasing the work volume and intensity while focusing on stressing the medial (side) deltoids as opposed to increasing the weight resistance. When Performing Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises stand in front of a mirror as if you are going to do a set of Barbell Bent over Rows slightly hunched over with your back in its strength position. Your torso should be at about a forty five degree angle to the floor. Standing hunched over a little helps intensify the stress on the outer deltoids. Keep your knees bent a little throughout the whole movement.
Watch your deltoids in the mirror as you perform the movement. This helps to focus on the muscle. Grip the dumbbells with your little finger right up against the weight plates so the dumbbells are lop sided in your hands. This helps put a little more stress on the medial deltoid head. You should now be in the starting position hunched over at a forty five degree angle with the dumbbells hanging in your arms and your knees slightly bent. As you proceed with your first repetition your torso will dip towards the floor a little as your arms rise out slowly off your sides. Focus on lifting your elbows not the dumbbells! Your wrists will turn as your arms rise so that your thumbs are a little below your little fingers by time you reach the top of the movement like pouring a pitcher of water. Focus on your outer deltoids throughout the movement to the half way point. Here look in the mirror and see your rear deltoids flexing and your elbows lifted up as high as comfortably possible.
Hold this position for a few seconds really feeling the stress in the intended location right in the sides of your shoulders! Now lower the dumbbells back down slowly. Keep in mind the feeling of tension in your outer shoulder which at this point is facing upwards. Remember to be twisting your thumbs again slowly back into the starting position pointing forwards. Simultaneously move your torso slightly back to how you started. When you feel the tension subside or lesson do not continue to lower the dumbbells any more. Instead pause and hold this position which will be a little higher than your original starting point. Continue to finish the remainder of your repetitions in the set.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press For An Added Mass Advantage
The following method for performing Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a secret I have not seen anywhere except for by Larry Scott. If you are familiar with Larry’s Shoulders and how much ahead Larry was when it came to shoulder development you should be getting pretty excited with what you are about to learn! Lean forward holding two dumbbells with your palms facing your torso. You will start in a position similar to as if you are in the fully contracted position of a Dumbbell Curl but leaning a little more forward with your elbows resting against your torso. Now push with your elbows not your triceps to really feel the shoulders work. Your elbows will move up and away from your body. As you are elevating the dumbbells supinate or turn your wrist so your palms face forward by the time you are holding the dumbbells as high as you can just before you lock your elbows. Hold this position to really get to feel your shoulder muscles working.
Now lower into the start position slowly in full control. Continue with the remainder of your set until the desired number of repetitions is completed
Favourite Shoulder Training Methods
♦ Drop Sets ♦ Gravity Edge Principle One ♦ Rest Pause Training ♦ Giant Sets
Shoulder Building Exercises
♦ Side Dumbbell Laterals ♦ Dumbbell Shoulder Press ♦ Rear Dumbbell Laterals ♦ Military Press Above The Head ♦ Front Dumbbell Raises ♦ 45 Degree Bench One Arm Side Laterals
Biceps: A Powerful Mind To Muscle Link for Biceps Fullness
To develop a powerful mind to muscle link for biceps fullness practice the following tips. Be aware of the way you hold your wrists. Any movement in the wrists will take stress off the biceps and transfer it into the forearms. This makes it very difficult to create a strong mind to muscle link to your biceps. When the forearms are working the burning feeling interrupts mental focus drastically to the biceps. Keep your fists straight with no forearms movement throughout the full repetition. Next, especially when performing Standing or Seated Curl movements watch your shoulders and eliminate any movement by preventing your elbows from swinging. Swinging elbows create a momentum that reduces the amount of work the biceps are required to perform to complete a full contraction. If you find it difficult to eliminate your elbows from swinging reduce your training weight. Lastly make sure you do not lean back to help move the weight. This minimizes the stress on the intended biceps muscles and is a sign that more concentration is required on the biceps as well as a possible reduction in training weight. Start with a relatively light weight for yourself and when you have eliminated the latter muscles from relieving the work load a powerful mind to muscle link can now be made to ensure that you are getting the most benefit out of your hard training efforts. At this point you can start experimenting with using lots of different angles when you train biceps.
The following routine of Dumbbell Biceps Curls on a Preacher Bench is great for developing a powerful mind to muscle link as it prevents cheating by securing the elbows against the bench. To focus on the biceps as much as possible do one arm at a time. Lock your wrists then begin. When you begin to raise your first arm turn your palm from facing inwards towards your torso to facing upwards as you reach the top of the movement. Keep focus on the biceps being contracted every moment to ensure maximum stress on the muscle. Look at the muscle as it is contracting. Make sure there is no swinging and really be conscious to when the tension is starting to decrease in the muscle. At the point in the movement that this occurs flex as hard as you can like as if you are showing off your arms to someone and then slowly return to the start position.
Exercises For Biceps Peak Specialization
There are a couple of tricks you can use to focus on the peaks of your biceps if you are weak in this area. I like to do exercises on angles where there is maximum tension on the end portion of the curl movement. Examples of this are Cable Curls using the Cable Crossover apparatus. Position yourself between the two upper cable pulleys. The handles will be attached to the top pulleys and your elbows when holding the single hand grips will be above your shoulders.
For training peak, cable movements are preferred over dumbbells as the tension is constant and does not ease off at the top portion of the repetition like when using dumbbells. If you do not have access to a cable apparatus then perform dumbbell curls in a bent over position. This position encourages more tension where it counts to build peak.
Another movement great for developing biceps peak is an exercise I came up with by accident one day! Stand upright with a barbell preferably not any heavier than forty pounds. Next proceed to lift the bar up along the torso by using your biceps like as if you are performing a bent over row but standing upright with your back straight. Do not curl the bar away from the torso in an arc or lock your elbows in a stationary position. The bar will travel in a straight line up your torso with your elbows pointing to the rear at the fully contracted position instead of pointing down toward the ground like a traditional Barbell Curl. The barbell will be lifted up to the bottom of your chest and an excruciatingly intense contraction will be felt in the biceps at the top fully contracted position.
Favourite Biceps Training Methods
♦ Drop sets ♦ Straight sets ♦ High repetitions
Biceps Shaping Exercises
♦ Dumbbell Preacher Bench Curls ♦ Upper Pulley Cable Curls ♦ Concentration Curls ♦ James’ Upright Barbell Lifts ♦ Seated Incline Bench Alternate Dumbbell Curls
Triceps: Building A Powerful Mind To Muscle Link
Most novices concentrate on their biceps for impressive arm development but it is the triceps which are three quarters of your arm! For a powerful mind to muscle link to your Triceps the mastering of two types of movements is required. The first type of movement is a pressing motion. Following are some pressing exercises to choose from: ♦ Close Grip Barbell Press ♦ Cable Push Downs with Lat Pull Down Machine ♦ Push Ups
The second type of triceps exercise is the extension type movement that results in the straightening of the arm. Some examples of these are as follows:
♦ Overhead Triceps Dumbbell Extension ♦ Overhead Cable Triceps Extension toward the floor. ♦ Dips( not recommended because of the stress placed on the shoulder) ♦ Lying Barbell Triceps Extensions
Choose one exercise from each column every time you work your triceps.. If you are short of time do Overhead Cable Extensions. Pressing movements are covered when the chest is trained.
Now to develop the mind to triceps link begin by increasing your awareness of how much tension is on the triceps at all times. Practice the exercises slowly, stopping and pausing at various points during each repetition. When you are paused, concentrate solely on feeling the tension in the triceps and where you are feeling the most tension. Focus on one arm at a time regardless of if you are using both arms or not. Use lighter weights to avoid accidents when you begin this exercise. Be careful about how much pressure you put on your elbows when your arms are near straight and when your forearms are against your biceps. As you approach both of these points in any triceps movement approach slowly and keep the triceps fully tensed. Never lock your elbows to avoid risking injury. Instead focus on flexing your triceps as hard as you can at a point just before you lock the elbows. After applying this regimen to all the triceps exercises above proceed to practice different angles and increasing your training resistance by small increments.
An Exercise For Lower Triceps
A good exercise to alternate in your routines for really targeting your lower triceps is an exercise I call The Steve Press. I call it that as my brother Steve is the only guy I ever saw or heard of doing this! The exercise is performed lying on a flat bench with an easy curl barbell. I recommend that no matter how strong you think you are to start fairly light on this one! For the sake of learning take a thirty pound bar and lie down on the flat bench. The movement is the same as when you perform close grip triceps press except your elbows will be placed on the side of the bar closest to your head and away from your body instead of holding the elbows pointing downwards in the direction of your toes at a forty five degree angle away from the body. When you perform the press this way you will feel focused stress on the lower triceps right above the elbow when performing the exercise correctly. Be careful and always be warmed up well prior to doing this exercise.
Favourite Triceps Training Methods
♦ Super set Triceps with other body parts ♦ Drop sets ♦ High repetitions
Triceps Exercises
♦ French Triceps Extensions Behind the Head ♦ Standing Rope Extensions ♦ One Arm Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks ♦ Overhead Cable Extensions ♦ Triceps Press Downs ♦ Lying Triceps Press ♦ Push Ups ♦ Standing Reverse Grip Triceps Extensions
Calves: Solving No Results Calf Training By Developing a Powerful Mind To Muscle Link.
I do not think I have seen as many people neglect training any other body part as much as the calves! And as a result I have seen more people with lagging calves than any other body part! And I can sympathize as calf training is as tough as the leather on Sonny Barger’s boots!
Then there is the challenging factor of the calves being a lower blood circulation body part being located so far away from the heart making it more difficult to get a pump! All aside I have found a really effective way for us “less gifted” in the calf department to truly develop outstanding calves! By developing a powerful mind to muscle link, you can finally get the training stimulus required to make those calves nearly magically respond!
A little bit about the calves so you have an idea of their structure. There are three muscles that will affect the circumference of your calves.
The first muscle is the gastrocnemius. This is the muscle which is responsible for depth of the muscle. The gastrocnemius is stimulated by performing calf movements with your knees straight. Although the knees are locked into a straight position, do not fully straighten your knees as this will put unnecessary strain in the tendons in your knees.
The second muscle is the soleus. This muscle is responsible for the width of the calf. To train the soleus, perform calf movements with your knees bent like the Seated Calf Raise. The third muscle is actually two muscles located on the front of your shin and are named the tibia and anterior tibia.
My favourite movements for training these muscles are by putting a dumbbell between my feet while I sit on a highly elevated bench or chair then lift my feet towards my shins. I call these Calf Curls!
After many years of trial and error and mediocre results I finally hit a method that has worked wonders on even the most genetically pathetic sets of calves!
The Secret “How To” That Will Make Your Calves Your Favourite Body Part To Show Off!
I came across this method by accident one day but it surely changed my lower body! This technique allows you to get the most out of every part of your range of motion.
To really build your calves a powerful mind to muscle link is necessary. Stress must be placed on the calves at every point throughout the full range of motion! This is achieved by putting your hands on the calves as you are training them and using your hands to strengthen your mind to muscle link to the calves. Choose exercises which allow the placement of your hands on your calves as you are performing your sets. The following exercises are good for this:
Calf Exercises
♦ Seated Calf Raise ♦ Icarian Seated Straight Leg Calf Raise Machine ♦ Calf Presses on Leg Press Machine ♦ Calf Curls
With your hands on your calves, start to perform the chosen exercise slowly with a medium light weight. As you are slowly executing the repetition, feel the calves with your hands, flexing and pushing the weight. If at any time you have a difficult time feeling the calf working, immediately pause at that point in the repetition.
Hold this position for a count to five really focusing on feeling your calf muscles! If you need to, focus on one calf at a time. Make sure that no cheating with the thighs or ankles is done. Pay close attention to make sure that you are not using these muscles to unconsciously assist your calves in finishing any part of the movement. At the half way point with your calves fully flexed in a standing on your toes position, again pause and focus on the calf for a count to five! Having your hands on the calves really helps focus on the calf muscles! Return to the starting position slowly, making sure to keep mental contact with the calf muscles at all times throughout the repetition. If you lose contact with the calf mentally, or have a hard time pin pointing exactly how you are lifting the weight, pause at the questionable point in the repetition and focus on the calf to ensure it is doing the work. Hold for a count to five. Although using only a medium weight, performing over fifteen repetitions using this technique is a real challenge! Try this for a while and reach the next dimension with your calf training!
Legs: Developing Strength and Shape with Subconscious Squats
If you only have time for one leg exercise, make it Squats! There is no other movement that benefits the legs as a whole in as little time! When Squatting, nearly every muscle in the body is stressed when that bar is on your shoulders! The challenge to developing a strong mind to muscle link to your legs when performing Squats is blocking out and coming to grips with all the stress placed everywhere else on the body from those distracting heavy weights on the shoulders! To extract the most benefit out of this exercise a strong mind to muscle link is required. Therefore to achieve this it is crucial to be very secure as to know exactly what and how to perform this movement at all times during the repetition. Following is a detail by detail explanation to perform squats. Practice with a light weight always before attempting heavier weights to not only avoid injury but to get so comfortable with your form as to pattern it subconsciously! When you reach this point focus on your legs to develop a results bursting mind to muscle link! To start, there is a lot of debate over foot spacing. There is no need for fancy wide footings or too narrow a stance. The optimal foot spacing for greatest stability, strength, overall muscular development as well as least chance of injury is achieved by taking a few steps just like how you regularly walk and using this stance. Your natural stance is the most beneficial! Place the bar on the meaty part of your trapezius just below the most protruding vertebrae in your lower neck.
Make sure your back is in its strength position, nice and straight. Do not lean backwards or too far forwards. The bar should descend in a path right over the center of your thighs. When you are performing this movement the benefits derived from dropping down any further than parallel are not worth the high chance of knee injury. Do not drop too fast as this is a sure fire way to end up wit ha crowd of people seeing you lose control! When squatting heavy, especially weights you are attempting for the first time descend very slowly in full control. Perform the movement with your legs. Do not bend forward! When attempting heavier weights for the first time go down as far as is comfortable even if only a partial repetition is performed. Gradually work your way to being able to perform full motion all the way where the top of the thigh is parallel to the ground. If at any point you feel like you are going to fail or are overwhelmed by the weight it is time to start ascending back into the start position. Be careful not to lock the knees to avoid unnecessary strain but also to keep tension on thighs at all times.
At the fully descended point, make sure you do not bounce. Come to a complete stop and then switch direction of movement nice and slowly and in full control.
Following is a pattern for increasing strength and size rapidly on squats .It is based on the number of repetitions performed with certain resistance benchmarks:
♦ Start with a warm up of twenty reps with one forty five pound plate on each side totalling one hundred and thirty five pounds. ♦ Put two forty five pound plates on each side and perform from ten to fifteen reps. ♦ Always do two sets of your maximum weight. When you can reach fifteen repetitions with two plates on each side progress to threes plates a side.
♦ Do between six to ten repetitions with three plates a side. If you can only do four to six repetitions do two sets with this weight and that is the end of squatting till next week. If you can do ten repetitions move to four plates a side. Work your way up to performing two sets of up to fifteen repetitions with four plates a side. Complete fifteen repetitions and you have achieved pretty good conditioning! Now the weights above are for explanatory purposes. Depending on your strength, training background and age adjust your weight benchmarks accordingly. Just keep in mind the repetition pattern and ensuring that you are increasing your work volume every training session.
To summarize:
♦ One set of twenty reps with one plate per side ♦ One set of two plates per side for twelve reps ♦ One set of three plates per side at eight reps ♦ Two sets of four plates per side for four to six repetitions!
When this level is reached, do not continue progress by increasing the weight. Instead pre-exhaust the thighs with Leg Extensions supersetted prior to the Squats. This strategy will put more stress on the thighs where you want it and less stress on your spine where you definitely do not want it!
The use of a weight belt is not recommended until performing sets with at least three plates per side. This helps strengthen up the lower back in proportion to the thighs.
Leg Press: Full Form Equals Full Results
The Leg Press is one exercise I see abused pretty well every trip I make to the gym. The two main offences are attempting to use too much weight and poor partial repetitions. Building a proper mind to muscle link can eliminate feeling the need to have to do either of these ineffective ego driven mistakes. Not only are you sacrificing your own progress you are risking injury as well. Start with weights you can do slow full repetitions with. If you can Squat three plates a side then there would be no reason for you to go any higher than five plates a side at the most on Leg Press! A full repetition is slowly lowering your thighs until they touch your chest if you are using a close footed stance. If you are using a wide stance then lower your knees until they are on either side of your torso.
When extending your legs to the start position you may push with the heels of your feet to emphasize more stress on your hamstrings. Press with the balls of your feet to use your quadriceps. When you are nearing the start position resist locking your knees as this takes the pressure off of the thighs and focuses it on your knee joints! Choose to pause with your legs slightly bent at the knee feeling the desired tension in your quads and hamstrings and then proceed with your next repetition.
Hamstrings:
Be careful and use proper form with Stiff Legged Dead Lifts!
Watching personal trainers and seasoned gym veterans I rarely see anyone perform Stiff Legged Dead Lifts properly. As a matter of fact the common error is a dangerous proposition! When you are performing this exercise, it is ninety five percent the hamstrings which are supposed to do the work! This means that the lower back should be in its strength position similar to when you lift a heavy box off the ground at all times! There should be no lower back movement in the spine! Only the torso as a whole moves like a pendulum originating from you hip. I always see arching of the lower back! This not only is dangerous to your lower vertebrae (spine) but defeats the purpose of the movement by taking the stress off the hamstrings. I like to use an over hand / under hand grip where one of my hands is reversed and the other is over top the bar. It does not matter which is which. I will pull the barbell off the rack and lower it constantly paying close attention to the stretch in my hamstrings. Remember to not arch your back just keep it in a constant strength position for the whole duration of each repetition. If using a lighter weight to achieve this is required it is well worth the added benefit in the long run. Now slowly lower the weight as if you are doing a touch your toes like stretch. If done properly you will not be able to lower the barbell all the way to the floor. As you lower the barbell, keep it away from your shins experimenting with pushing away to see how this motion affects the tension in the hamstrings. The tension will be quite intense in the hamstrings at the bottom position closest to the floor.
Carefully without jerking raise the barbell to the Start position. Do not straighten your torso upright and rest! Pay close attention as you slowly return to the point where you feel the tension start to fade! At this point begin your descent again!
Favourite Training Techniques for Hamstrings
♦ Gravity Edge One ♦ Pause Training ♦ Alternate Speed Training
Abdominals: Apply Your Mind For Awesome Midsection Development
To develop your abdominals and midsection fancy apparatuses are not required! Thousands of repetitions of sit ups are not necessary! What is mandatory is a proper knowledge of what drives results and to maintain a laser like focus every moment during the small plane of motion of each abdominal stimulating repetition. Lets look at some facts as well as dispel some myths concerning your abdominals:
♦ Abdominals are a muscle and like your other muscles require weight or resistance to grow. ♦ Abdominals are a smaller muscle and therefore recuperate fast. Training three times a week can be beneficial. ♦ Your lower back must always be trained with your abdominals for core stabilization (strong torso) and lower back/spine health. ♦ There is a point where intense contraction tension training is more beneficial than to continue to just increase weight. ♦ Abdominals will see better results if training stimulus is concentrated on time under tension as opposed to high repetitions. ♦ Low body fat is required to see results from abdominal training. Therefore diet is crucial. ♦ Sit-ups are more of a hip flexor stimulating exercise than abdominal. It is important to include sit ups in every workout but near the end and only after proper abdominal work is complete. ♦ Exercises which secure the feet are more likely to stimulate the hip flexors as opposed to abdominals. ♦ To excel in nearly all exercises a strong torso is necessary. For example squats, barbell curls, military press and back rowing exercises all benefit from a strong torso. ♦ The plane of motion to train abdominals is very small.
Now that we have covered some elementary basics about abdominals lets go through a couple of programs.
Beginner Level One
♦ Work your abdominals three times a week ♦ Three sets of Crunches with your feet as close to your rear as possible on the floor. ♦ Two sets of Hyper Extensions.
Let’s mentally go through the motion required to complete one repetition of Crunches with optimal form! Imagine a set of rock hard abs!
Lie on a mat or bench with your feet right up against your bum. Do not put your hands behind your head as this makes it more difficult to focus on the abs. Breathing is important with ab training, breath out as you are crunching the stomach. When you are first beginning put your hands on your abs and feel them working.
Do not try to lift your torso off the ground this is a Sit Up. Instead concentrate on making the distance between the bottom of your rib cage and your hips as short as possible. Try to feel your abs through out the whole movement. As soon as you cannot feel the tension in your abs stop at the position in question and focus on your abs and really try to feel your abs flexing. When you cannot squeeze your rib cage any closer to your hip bone your breath should be fully exhaled. At this point hold the fully contracted position for a count of 5. Slowly return to the start position being careful as to not lose the mind abdominal connection you have at this point established.
As you are returning to the start position breathe in through your nose. Do not go all the way to the rest position as soon as you feel the tension in your abs let up start to return to the fully contracted position. Keep the tension on your abs by repeating this motion until you just cannot bear it any longer. At this point record how many repetitions you have achieved then go directly to the Hyper Extension apparatus. Do a set of Hyper Extensions. While doing the Hyper Extensions, be careful not to go past the point where your back is straight. This is unnecessary stress to your spine. Concentrate on working lower back as opposed to your hamstrings and gluteus (bum). As soon as you have completed thirty repetitions immediately go and do another set of Crunches. Repeat this circuit three times. This is why I advise against eating before training as doing so will be a ticket to cleaning your own vomit in the gym!
Forearms: Details Make The Difference
Forearms do get a lot of training from exercises that require the intense holding of heavy bars like Chin Ups, Lat Pull Downs, Dumbbell Curls, and Dumbbell Press. For this reason I recommend Reverse Grip Wrist Curls once a week as a supplement to your forearms. The reverse grip movement is neglected compared to the inside forearms which are worked quite frequent.
When training forearms an ability to push through an intense burn is mandatory just like calf training. As well just like calf training I recommend a version of My Pause Position Training to really focus on keeping stress on the muscles at all times. Neglecting forearms will rob you of showing one of the most viewed body parts! A technique I use for extra forearm development is to grab a light dumbbell and have your palms facing upwards. Twist your palms so that they will now be facing the floor. When the palms are facing the floor pull the back of your fist towards you as if to try and touch your knuckles to your forearms. Hold for a count to four and then return to the start position slowly.
I also prefer high repetition training for forearms in the twenty to twenty five repetition range.
Section Summary
♦ Keep the tension on the targeted muscle at all times as much as possible! ♦ Adapt the range of motion of each exercise to keep maximum tension on the targeted muscle. This means that sometimes you may actually decrease the range of motion for some exercises. ♦ Developing a mind to muscle link is the crucial missing link that can accelerate your progress! ♦ Break training plateaus by limiting the range of motion to only the portion of the exercise you are strongest. ♦ Mentally rehearse each exercise when reading the previous descriptions! Doing so will develop your mind to muscle link substantially! ♦ Working out is definitely not just a physical challenge. Really excelling is not possible without really using your mind as well!
Section Eight- Training Methods
This chapter is a guide to the various training methods recommended for accelerated progress accompanied by a thorough explanation of each method.
Rest Pause Training
Rest Pause Training is the purposeful stopping/pausing during the performance of a repetition at various positions. This method was developed by me to help as effectively as possible develop a mind to muscle link in order to maximize progress in much less time! Little did I know I would stumble onto one of the most powerful and effective methods to shock muscles into an explosive growth spurt!
Using Calf Raises as an example, start each repetition by placing your hands on the calves. Proceed with a consistent slow and steady motion. At the one third points during the repetition, pause hold the weight and count to five feel the stress being incurred on the muscles you desire to exercise. Pause at the fully extended or fully contracted position for the exercise as well while keeping your hands on your calves. At each point take note if you are placing the maximum amount of stress you can where you intend to. If you do not feel the calf muscles tensed enough pause and make slight adjustments to help you get the absolute most out of every point during the repetition. This intensity technique is most effective for speedy progress if the pauses are held for five seconds. When I hit a pause position I will count in my head one, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand, four, one thousand, five, one thousand then continue with the repetition. Pause position training is one of the best methods for beginners to develop the mind muscle link required to extract as much benefit out of an exercise movement.
Drop Sets
Drop Sets are performed by starting your exercise set with your maximum four to six repetition weight, doing as many repetitions as possible(4-6) then immediately dropping the exercise weight to seventy percent of the weight you were just using and doing as many repetitions as possible. This process is repeated again with fifty percent of your first set weight then once more with thirty percent to really finish off the body part you are working. If you can do more than two of these drop sets it is not because you are strong! On the contrary you are not pushing yourself hard enough! An example for Dumbbell Press follows: ♦ Start with 100 pound dumbbells first set for four to six repetitions. ♦ Immediately perform as many repetitions as possible with seventy pounds. ♦ Immediately perform as many repetitions as possible with fifty pound dumbbells. ♦ Immediately finish off your chest with as many good repetitions as you can with thirty pound dumbbells. If your maximum training weight for Dumbbell Press is less than one hundred pounds then you will not need to do as many drop sets. For example if you can only press fifty pound dumbbells for five repetitions then do a drop set of thirty five pound dumbbells and a last set of twenty five pound dumbbells. Set up the dumbbells you will need before you start and do not cheat by resting over five seconds at the most in between drop sets. While doing drop sets is a good time to remember the mindset of a champion is one that strives to be in the pain zone for as long as possible! The set is a waste and really does not even start until you are feeling it!
Giant Sets
Giant Sets are performing three or more exercises one after another with only as much rest as it takes to start the next exercise. This is preferably three to five seconds so prepare ahead of starting your giant set by setting up everything you will need for your set. A good example of a giant set for biceps is:
♦ Preacher Dumbbell Curls with thirty pounds each arm for twelve reps. ♦ Immediately perform Preacher Barbell Curls for twelve repetitions. ♦ Immediately perform Preacher Easy Curl Bar Reverse Grip Curls twelve repetitions.
A partner is required for this type of high intensity training.
Supersets
Supersets are the act of performing two sets of two different body parts one after another with as little rest as possible in between. A good example of this for chest and biceps is: ♦ Dumbbell Flyes immediately followed by Machine Preacher Bench Curls ♦ Dumbbell Press immediately followed by Standing Dumbbell Curls ♦ Cable Flyes immediately followed by Cable Bicep Curls
Supersets are great for keeping your heart rate up while you weight train adding extra cardiovascular benefits for your heart and your waist! Supersets are also excellent for getting a lot of work done on your body in as little time as possible!
High Repetition Training
High Repetition Training is one of the most under rated training methods for achieving great results! I like to start a training cycle with high repetition training for the following benefits:
♦ Great for developing good form and a powerful mind to muscle link. ♦ Great for increasing the body’s ability to supply blood into the muscles. ♦ Increases vascularity.
♦ Good for strengthening the tendons to prepare for heavy training stress reducing chances of injury. ♦ Excellent pump. ♦ Good for developing tolerance to lactic acid build up. ♦ Stresses different types of muscle fibers
There are two repetition ranges I train between when doing High Repetition Training. The first is between twenty and twenty five repetitions. The second is between twelve and fifteen repetitions. I focus especially on my repetition speed when I do High Repetition Training. I emphasize slow training. As per Gravity Edge Principle One.
Pre-Exhaustion Training
Well you have guts to read a paragraph with the header pre-exhaustion! This is a method of training where two sets are performed right after one another. The first set is an exercise that isolates the targeted muscle and then the second exercise is a compound movement which utilizes another muscle group to push the targeted muscle group further when it is impossible to do any more with the targeted muscle alone.
Here are some examples for all the different body parts:
Chest
♦ Flat Dumbbell Flyes and Hammer Strength Lower Incline Press ♦ Incline Dumbbell Flyes and Incline Smith Press ♦ Cable Flyes and Parallel Bar Dips
Back Thickness
♦ Horizontal Shoulder Blade Shrugs followed by Cable Rowing
Back Width
♦ Cable Vertical Shoulder Blade Shrugs followed by Lat Machine Pull Downs
Legs Front (Quadriceps)
♦ Leg Extension followed by Squats
Rear Legs (Hamstrings)
♦ Seated Leg Curl followed by Leg Press with heel of foot. ♦ Lying Leg Curls with machine or dumbbell followed by Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
Shoulders
♦ Dumbbell Side Laterals followed by Machine Shoulder Press ♦ Rear Dumbbell Laterals followed by Rope Upright Rows. ♦ Front Dumbbell Raises followed by Military Press
Calves (Width)
♦ Seated Calf Raises followed by Straight Legged Standing Calf Raise.
Calves (Thickness)
♦ Standing Calf Raise followed by Seated Calf Raise
Triceps
♦ Cable Extensions followed by Triceps Lying Press
Biceps
♦ Dumbbell Curls followed by Reverse Grip Chin Ups ♦ Preacher Curls followed by James’ Barbell Curls
-Summary-
♦ There are many ways to make your training enjoyable and productive. ♦ Experiment with different training techniques to add variety and results!
Appendix –A: Optional High Repetition Training Phase for Training through Injury
General Overview High Repetition Phase
♦ High repetitions (20-25) for two to three sets of each exercise. Follow gravity edge principles. ♦ Superset two different body parts per workout
♦ Weight work out duration is 45 minutes.
♦ The following body part combinations are recommended to reduce stress on tendons and joints:
Example Routine:
Workout # Muscle Groups Trained 1 Chest with Biceps. 200 repetitions of Abs at end of workout 2 Back with Triceps 3 Legs, Shoulders, Calves
Workout #1: Chest / Biceps /Abs 1 Incline Hammer Strength Press or Incline Barbell Smith Press Superset With Dumbbell Curls.
2 Dumbbell Press Superset with Preacher Bench Curls
3 Dips Superset with Reverse Grip Barbell Curls
4 Abs 200 reps of various abdominal exercises as per the abdominal specialization program.
Workout #2: Back / Triceps 1 Wide Grip Chin Ups Superset with one arm Triceps rope Extensions behind head from ground pulley. 2 Dumbbell Rows Superset with Dips 3 Dumbbell Pullovers Superset with Easy Bar Steve Presses 4 Scapula Shrugs Superset with Dumbbell kickbacks
Workout Three: Legs / Calves / Shoulders
1 Squats superset with Standing Calf Raises 2 Leg Press superset with Calf Presses on Leg Press Machine 3 Seated Leg Curl superset with Seated Calf Raises 4 Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 Dumbbell Side Laterals Superset W/ Rear Laterals
Appendix – B: Consistency
When You Go Off Track For Any Reason But Legitimate Illness Or Injury… Get back on track by eating right at your very next opportunity!!
One of the biggest challenges I see facing many people is the difficulty of going off course, i.e. not sticking to your diet or missing a workout, and then getting back on track as fast as possible.
Let’s look at an example of this: Say you are off schedule for some reason one day in the morning, forget to prepare your lunch so you conveniently go to some fast food joint and have a Dig Deal meal oversized with two ice cream cones. Your gut is stretched and you feel sick and lethargic. Most people will find it easy to say: “Oh well today is a write off. I will cheat just for today, eating all the crap I can and then get back on schedule tomorrow. Or maybe even next Monday I will start again.”
This is the starting of a dangerous rut! Before you know it three months has passed and you still haven’t gotten back on track. If you are conscious of your reasons for doing what you are doing and have seen some rewards it is a little easier for some to get back on track again. Some individuals may say to themselves: “Oh I have done pretty well for the last two weeks I will take a week off.”
This may be alright if you are sick or injured (as long as it is not just an excuse or wrongly justified) but if it is because you fell off track, after you have read this, you should be aware of this trap and avoid it in the future!
Remind yourself of all the rewards you are receiving for keeping your workout routine!
Yes, on some days a spell of laziness may prevail and all of a sudden you feel like today is the day you will miss your workout! This is especially true for me on leg training day! But really, there are no good reasons for this spell of laziness for pretty soon every excuse will become reasonable and one spot of laziness will become two, then three, then four, then five…. UH OH!
DO NOT MISS YOUR WORKOUT AND EAT RIGHT!
Remind yourself of the benefits you are receiving from your new schedule. It may only have been a few weeks and surely you should at least feel better about yourself and your ability to keep your commitments. You should now be feeling more energetic and have an overall sense of well being compared to before! You may even see some physical changes! Whatever it is for you, now is the time to remind yourself of the benefits and as well of the goals and definitely remember the time line you have set for yourself to follow!
Consistency: The Foundation for Your Success!
If you continue to miss the occasional meal or workout, success may evade you! In the beginning consistency is so important I cannot emphasize it enough through the English language! Even if you do not recognize the changes after four or five weeks all of a sudden you will wake up one day like magic and you will see the difference! I know this is a fact because I have lived it many times!
I remember my first serious workout cycle back in 1986: I worked literally like hell and ate right! I did everything as best as I knew how at the time. I wanted success so badly that I ate, slept and lived body building! In my spare time I read body building magazines and medical literature and studies! I hung out with all the top body builders and quizzed their minds! (Some body builders are not dumb you know!)
I did not see the changes I believed I thought I should but what kept my faith was comfort in the assurance that I was working hard and consistent! I ate properly, I trained hard, I got the proper amount of rest, and with all these things I was very consistent! Sure enough I woke up one morning and that day I got all kinds of comments from many people of how it seemed like overnight my physique had changed! It surely did not feel like overnight to me but it looked that way to others!
Keep consistent as a means of keeping your faith to succeeding and I guarantee one morning you will wake up and experience the same!
1.) What do I need to be consistent with?
There are two ways consistency applies. Ask yourself the following: ♦ Am I following a consistent diet and workout schedule day by day, week in and week out? ♦ Am I consistently changing up my program and slowly but progressively increasing my workload?
2.) Why do you not feel like working out today? Is it ok if you miss your workout just this one time?
More days than not you may feel like not working out .When this happens there are always many excuses to justify what is really just being lazy. For example:
♦ You have been consistent all month ♦ You have been consistent all week ♦ You are low on energy today maybe you are coming down with a cold ♦ It is more important that you… ♦ You could be overtraining, you need the rest… ♦ You feel an injury coming on so You better rest today for your Longetivity ♦ You do not want to get too big
The list goes on but really it is irrelevant. Unless you are actually injured and in rehabilitation or physically sick with a bed ridden flu you are sabotaging yourself! It is very easy to get into a pattern of bad habits and then one missed workout leads to another. Suddenly you will see that you have missed five or six months and back to the drawing board! Go to the gym and keep to your daily routine no matter what and if you have to, limit time in the gym or change to just doing light high repetitions for the day. You may concentrate on some lagging body parts or try a new routine to freshen things up. You’ll always feel better once you get started and then realize that just getting to the gym or starting the exercise was half the battle! Once started, all the excuses that made sense before really hold little merit. Realize how you were just sabotaging your progress!
3.) The Secret to Consistency and Reaching Your Goals... Strengthening The Will.
It seems that today’s modern person has a problem with will power. Not only is there a huge misconception as to what will power is but there is also a misconception on how to use it!
“Will power is the power control in your mind which holds your thought in a given direction until a result has been accomplished” ( Thomas Troward excerpted from “Attaining Your Desires” )
Here is an example given in Thomas Troward’s “Attaining Your Desires”:
“Suppose you wish to go a certain place; without the will to go there you could not even start, not could you retain the thought of the place long enough to arrive. You would start in the right direction and then, because there was not sustaining power in the thought, you might turn and go in another direction”
Now doesn’t this sound like the root of the problem with succeeding in creating our visions of our Detailed Physique?
The will is what holds your thought focused on your purpose until that purpose or goal is fulfilled!
Pay attention to some signs of a weak will:
♦ Obsession towards a goal ♦ Lack of focus towards a goal ♦ Impatience like with road rage ♦ Fear of not being in the right place at the right time. ♦ Starting lots of projects and never finishing any of them ♦ Fear or doubt of not accomplishing your goal. ♦ Difficulty starting tasks to reach your goals ♦ Lethargy ♦ Impulsiveness
An Exercise to Strengthen Your Will Power:
Strengthening your will power is very similar to weight training in that the rate of progress in both is relatively slow and gradual! Here is how I proceed with my days to strengthen and work my will:
♦ Do not rush yourself through any tasks ♦ Concentrate on your task at hand ♦ Do not leave anything you set out to do today unfinished regardless of the time ♦ Do a good job with what ever you put your mind to. ♦ Practice patience ♦ Be confident that you will achieve your goals when the time is right.
Appendix C - Optimal Protein Program
Stay away from food tampered by human hands!
In most cases we tend not to improve upon things over nature. Thus if it isn’t broken don’t fix it (ho hum). Sausages, deli meats, canned meats, processed meats and processed cheeses would fit these man altered items. Choose cuts of red meat, fresh chicken, eggs, some pork cuts, turkey and fish. The closer to how it was when it was caught the better! This does not mean eat raw chicken; it means eat chicken breast and not processed deli chicken slices or chicken Mcnuggets. Following this rule ensures you to get the most out of what you eat; maximum quality protein per calorie with none of the preservatives, empty calories or fillers. This is a necessity to gain muscle and not put on fat!
Whey Protein Powders are only a secondary choice of protein!
Whey protein is a secondary choice protein in my opinion. It is not because all the studies on whey protein are inaccurate; on the contrary, whey protein would be a very good choice of protein if you could know for certain that when you bought a container of whey that is what it was! You see it is very expensive to produce high quality whey protein and most companies sell “proprietary blends” or poor quality whey protein to make their product marketable and of course profitable.
Even though whey protein is a byproduct of soft cheese manufacturing, do you really think you could get a huge vat of ion-exchanged whey protein, cross - flow micro - filtered and cold pressed for forty bucks?
The Danger of Protein Powder: Infestation of Unhealthy Additives!
Another problem with whey proteins and protein powders in general is the addition of artificial sweeteners like aspartame and potassium asulfame. Everybody wants the taste of artificial strawberry or chocolate with no extra carbohydrates/calories! I don’t know why as personally the taste of artificial strawberry, vanilla as well as chocolate make me gag worse than the fresh skid marks on a sumo wrestler’s thong!
Comparison of Protein Powders versus Beef or Fish For Fat Loss
From my experience it takes higher doses of whey protein to perform the same results as beef or fish. Consuming predigested protein (protein powders) when you are seeking fat loss is not necessarily advantageous because it shortchanges you of the fat burning energy required to digest real food. Whole foods have a major advantage over protein supplements; they stimulate the metabolism more. Protein takes more energy to digest than any food. Including a whole protein food with every meal can speed up your metabolic rate as much as 30% because of the energy necessary to digest, process, and absorb it. This means that out of 100 calories of a protein food such as turkey, you could burn 30 of those calories from the process of digestion alone! Protein powder supplements do not require the energy to break down nor do they stimulate the metabolism like whole food natural sources of protein.
This is a concern if you would like to gain muscle without gaining fat!
As well there are many other nutrients in meats and fish that are void in protein powders. The fortification of meal replacement powders has a lot to be desired. As a matter of fact I personally know one of the major supplement companies research and development teams head honchos recommends to the sponsored athletes not to use any supplements when training for contests! So all those advertisements for protein powders are right! Proteins are not all created equal! By far natural sources of protein are superior in every way to protein powder supplements! That is unless you’re the one making the profits!
The Problem of Going into Ketosis When Using Some Protein Powders
Ketosis is the abnormal increase of ketones in the blood caused by restricting the body’s intake of carbohydrates. Ketones are what your body converts fat into in order to use it for energy in the place of glycogen. The Atkins diet, for example, is a popular diet which is based on converting fat into ketones for energy.
Some of my clients have followed a no carbohydrate diet, specifically my Ketogenesis program, and mysteriously could not go into ketosis? Time and time again eliminating commercial protein powders solved the mystery! If an individual does not go into ketosis after five days then there has to be some form of carbohydrates still in the diet. Protein powders are famous for containing cake mix and chalk as fillers to decrease production costs thus enhancing profit margin! After all is said and done, I think there is a lot more taste to beef, fish, and turkey or chicken as well you know what you are ingesting. Bad gas or uncontrollable dirty farting is an all too common consequence I have been tortured by at the gym because of some financially struggling body builder ingesting many of the poor quality whey proteins and/or meal replacements on the market. Why do these guys work out? If they think women like muscular men, a little muscle is not going to go that far if you stink!
Avoid Soy Protein and Soy Protein Isolates!
Soy protein was never meant for human consumption. If you look back into the history of soy even the Asians never used to eat it! Soy crops were used during the Chou Dynasty for crop rotation as a method of fixing nitrogen retention in the soil. It was not until fermentation techniques were discovered that soy was used as a source of human protein. Soy contains high levels of natural toxins or “Antinutrients” responsible for the following problems:
♦ Inhibit potent enzymes like trypsin which are required for the digestion of protein. Studies have linked inhibiting trypsin to cause enlargement of the pancreas and cancer.(2) ♦ Soybeans contain haemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.
“Trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinin are growth inhibitors. Weanling rats fed soy containing these Antinutrients fail to grow normally. Growth-depressant compounds are deactivated during the process of fermentation, so once the Chinese discovered how to ferment the soybean, they began to incorporate soy foods into their diets.” Fallon Sally & Enig Mary, PhD,” Newest Research on Why You Should Avoid Soy”: Nexus Magazine April – May 2000
♦ 99% of Soy is genetically modified. ♦ Soybeans are high in phytic acid. Phytates have been thoroughly studied and scientists in general agree they are responsible for widespread mineral deficiencies in third world countries. Phytic acid blocks the uptake of essential minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron and Zinc. Studies have shown that these essential minerals are abundant in the food supplies in third world countries but that phytic acid is responsible for the widespread mineral deficiencies.(17) ♦ Soy protein isolates are high temperature processed denaturing the proteins in soy making them mostly ineffective. (18). Animals fed soy protein are supplemented with lysine (an amino acid) so that normal growth occurs.( Fallon Sally & Enig Mary, PhD,” Newest Research on Why You Should Avoid Soy”:
Nexus Magazine April – May 2000). This may explain why such high levels of soy protein are required to create an anabolic effect.
The Farting Puzzle
In all my hastiness to get huge I bought a huge vat of protein powder so I could get ample protein to provide for building muscle. I supplemented twice a day with two scoops of this tasty stuff and really enjoyed the chocolate taste as it was a nice break from the fairly strict but bland diet I was following. About an hour after my first serving I felt some bubbling in my lower intestine! I was a little at unease as I was riding up the elevator twenty one stories with a load full of my business associates. The clock seemed to be stopped as I stressed to hold in whatever was trying to escape! I thought I was home free when the elevator stopped at the sixteenth floor unexpectedly. A young lady started to enter the elevator and to accommodate her I had to move slightly to the right. As I moved I lost control! A large fart escaped me as the elevator door sealed the fate on all the passengers! I turned red as the distinguished gentleman next to me gagged like a soldier in the trenches being tear gassed during World War One! This was no cake walk! What had brought on such ferocious gas? It was so bad this gas that I dared not to take the elevator down but the stairs all the way to the bottom! The culprit was the protein powder but I did not immediately figure this out! The moral of this stinky story… IF you are to purchase protein powders monitor for gas after wards. If you get gas then this is a sign that you have purchased a poor quality protein powder that your body cannot assimilate properly! Switch brands until you have found one that does not give you these horrific reputation ruining side effects!
Approved Proteins
All proteins ideally should be grass fed, growth hormone free, have no anti-biotics or animal by-products used in the raising of the livestock. I understand this is more expensive and difficult to achieve. Once you locate a good source for these items (like a larger health food store that sells groceries) you will not have to search any more. A good source will not be much more money than your present food bill!
I also trim all the excess fats off all the beef and chicken as this adds a lot of excess calories. You can read about saturated fat and what types to avoid in the Fuels Chapter.
Here is a list of recommended Approved Proteins:
Best Choices
♦ Buffalo ♦ Shrimp ♦ Crab and shell fish ♦ Lobster ♦ Eggs (whole) ♦ Low fat dry cottage cheese ♦ Venison ♦ Orange Roughy Fish ♦ Dry fishes ( low in unsaturated fats) ♦ Haddock fish ♦ Squid ♦ After training whey protein is qualified as a top choice because of its quick absorption.
Secondary Choices
♦ Whey protein with no artificial flavors colors or preservatives.(sucrolose is fine) ♦ Turkey breast ♦ Skim milk powder milk proteins ♦ Duck ♦ Liver ♦ Cod fish
Acceptable Choices
♦ Chicken breast (free range is best) ♦ Lean cuts of beef( top round steak, roast, top sirloin) ♦ Salmon once in a while ♦ Tuna (Not canned. If canned eat very seldom as the aluminum content is high) ♦ Lean ham ♦ Lean ground beef, turkey or chicken ♦ Pork chops ♦ Feta cheese ♦ Veal ♦ Tofu (fermented or sprouted soy source)
Appendix D - Muscle Mass Troubleshooting Guide
What happens if you follow the program and you are not making gains like you should be?
There are three key elements to An Explosive Growth Spurt; Diet, training, and rest/recuperation. Without any one of these factors optimized for your body, age and experience, you may as well go work as a ditch digger instead of training in your spare time! Because at least as a ditch digger you will be earning a paycheck!
To truly optimize your training with the least amount of time and effort, keeping accurate training and eating logs is necessary! Therefore this whole section is dedicated to ensuring you will have everything you require to keep immaculate records of your training, your diet and even your recuperation!
Underground Body Assessment
What to monitor before you begin and again after every completion of The Four Phase Plan
Before you begin your quest to Shock your body into an explosive growth spurt, it is important to record you’re beginning measurements and status. This way you will have a reference point for assessing your progress in the future. After every completion of The Four Phase Plan, monitor what kind of changes you have made. This exclusive plan is called The Underground Body Assessment.
By following The Underground Body Assessment plan you can proceed to make critical adjustments to prevent yourself from wasting time and energy.
The attention to detail here makes the difference between experiencing quantum leaps in progress or frustratingly missing the sensitive mark required for your success!
The Four Phase Plan is designed to produce maximum results in the least amount of time as well as prevent overtraining.
The structure also encourages long term consistency. All this is achieved by structuring scientifically calculated rest / training cycles to follow. As you progress in training intensity you advance to a more advanced training / rest cycle.
As weight training is very intense to produce high amounts of bodily stress in short periods of time, as you become a more advanced trainee you are able to stress your body much harder. The harder you stress your muscles the more your organs like kidneys and liver need complete rest periods from intense anaerobic exercise. During your rest periods is a great opportunity to monitor your results and plan the appropriate changes to your diet training and recuperation routine. These changes are dependant on the following factors:
• How are your energy levels? • How much has your body weight changed? • How much has your body fat changed? • How is your strength and endurance? • Do you have any aches and pains? • Do you feel like quitting? • Did you stick to you plan? • Did you make you goals? • Your visual appearance
By monitoring your progress carefully we can reduce the amount of time and effort it will take you to reach and exceed your goals. If you are not making the progress you would like it is much easier to go back through your written records and troubleshoot with accuracy.
How to Optimize Your Body for Gaining Mass in Record Time.
In the workout for this section you will take measurements of where you are starting from to accurately assess your progress. These measurements will again be referred to and taken every four training phases.
Then according to your progress, modifications are made to your training diet and recuperation to hone in a plan that is specific for you to optimize your genetics for gaining mass and losing fat in record time.
Let’s go through each factor and what to do under each possible condition:
Your Energy Levels
Low energy levels may indicate you are overtraining and/or eating too little calories. If you are low on energy and have lost over eight pounds of body weight during the four week period then increase your calories by adding extra carbohydrates after you train or adding an extra 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day.
Decrease your training to light weight and high repetitions (high repetition training routine here) and make the next training cycle you start have a little more rest like the advanced or intermediate training cycles.
Your Body Weight
Your body weight can be quite a deceiving factor. Depending on what your goals are and how good of shape you are presently in there are a lot of variations.
You could be losing fat and gaining muscle but maintaining a relatively unchanged body weight. Don’t get too carried away with body weight as this can be mentally debilitating.
Instead monitor your skin fold measurements and appearance. Look at your vascularity as an increase in vascularity signals you are losing fat and not muscle.
If you look smoother have a loss in vascularity and have a lower bodyweight then increase your protein intake and add a tablespoon or two of MCT’s or coconut oil with each of your meals. Decrease your training volume by performing one less exercise per body part. If your body weight (fat weight) has gone up significantly cut out your starchy carbohydrates except for one serving every day upon waking up and after you train. Increase your coconut oil and fibrous carbohydrates.
Your Body Fat
Do not worry about actual percentage of body fat every four phases as much as skin fold measurements. Make sure you take skin folds in exactly the same places by getting the same person to do the measurements every time. Make sure you let the skin fold calipers settle fully as to squeeze any excess water out from the skin where you are measuring. Optimally you want to have decreased measurements at each measurement period or at least the measurements staying the same if on a heavy growth spurt! Once you know if your skin fold measurements have increased or decreased you can measure body weight to gauge your progress towards building muscle and losing fat.
If your skin fold measurements are less and you have gained weight you have lost fat and gained muscle. If your skin fold measurements have increased and your weight has increased you have gained fat and possibly some muscle. Decreasing your starchy carbohydrates will eliminate any water being held in your skin and help your body use fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have more impact on water retention than salt does.
If your skin fold measurements have remained constant and your weight has decreased you have lost muscle and it is time to cut down your training volume take a week off then start off your program with a more advanced training cycle and less volume. Watch out how much cardio work you are getting and make sure you are getting adequate rest every night. You may want to consider a daily nap during the afternoons or at lunch. Do you have a lot of stress in your life? If so it‘s affecting your training! Time to take care of business and make some changes. Make sure you are sticking to only basic compound exercises.
Your Strength and Endurance
Strength
The Fourth phase of The Four Phase Plan is designed to test your improvements in strength. But every workout you monitor your workout volume and the time it takes you to finish. Every week of the program refer to your last Four Phase Plan rotation of that particular training phase and set that as your mark to beat.
For example if you are in Phase Three then look up the last time you did a Phase Three of the type you are about to do. There are two types of Phase three Option One and Option Two. See what your Power Factor was for the basic compound exercises being monitored you achieved was and how many minutes your full workout required to complete. Then the night before you train set up a program on the charts provided that increases your power factor. You can increase your power factor either by increasing the amount of weight you use the number of repetitions you do or performing sets being measured in less time. For ease of comparison, You are better off to stick to increasing repetitions and weight while keeping time constant.
Of course adding a set will increase your volume substantially but this is not recommended unless you cannot increase training intensity for some reason. For example, training around an injury.
If you do not beat your last phase power factor the first step is to get extra rest. Go back on a Phase One full body workout program and advance to a more advanced training cycle. If you are already on the most advanced training cycle then troubleshoot these factors. The next step is to increase you protein by 0.5 grams per pound bodyweight per day and your fats in particular coconut oil or MCT’s. An extra tablespoon per meal is a good start. Really pay attention to your daily quality of rest and hours you are resting. You may need to add a nap or extra hour sleep per night.
Watch your daily stress. If it is high you must deal with the issues and get some peace and enjoyment in your life. Stress is the worst offender for killing progress that most people take for granted. There is a very definite correlation between high cortisone levels as a result of stress. High cortisone makes the ratio of anabolic hormones to catabolic hormones in your body poor. This in turn makes the precious anabolic hormones you have much less effective.
Lowering cortisone levels as low as possible is the same as adding anabolic hormones like steroids to your body. Cortisone has benefits that are crucial to your health. No need to take any cortisone lowering drugs, just simply deal with your stress!
Be careful how much energy you use and be a little lazier on purpose throughout your daily routine.
Endurance
Now there is a point where you may not want to beat the weight volume of your last cycles workout but instead decrease the amount of time it takes you to complete your last workouts volume.
To decrease your amount of time requires you to take fewer and shorter breaks between your sets thus challenging you to improve your endurance under challenging anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The goal of The Four Phase Plan is improving your health, your muscle mass and lowering your body fat level. It is not about running marathons.
Keep your workout volume constant and decrease your workout time when your priority is to lose fat. For an explosive growth spurt relax between sets and get as much recuperation as possible. No more than four minutes is beneficial. Your muscles generally will recover as much as possible in a four minute between sets break. After four minutes you are unnecessarily risking injury from your muscles cooling off too much!
Your Aches and Pains
Monitor your aches and pains. If you have any aches or pains that are not as a result of muscular stiffness consult a physician and get a check up. As well take a week off from training. If you are to continue training I recommend you do high repetition type training for up to two full cycles of The Four Week Plan to help strengthen your tendons and reduce the risk heavier weights pose towards flaring up your injury even worse. Of course make sure you get the okay of a qualified physician prior to any training.
If you have muscle soreness follow the tips on relieving muscle stiffness.
Do You Feel Like Quitting?
If you feel like quitting this is definitely a sign that you are overtraining. Instead of quitting, Follow a high repetition training regimen and keep your weight rather low. Practice Gravity Edge Principle Two. Train for increased blood circulation and muscle pump.
Did You Make Your Goals and Stick To Your Plan?
This is the time to re-evaluate your goals by comparing what you wanted to accomplish to what you actually did accomplish. First off, no matter what you achieved, the fact that you have stuck to your program is the most important factor for long term success! So congratulate yourself for this commendable achievement! If you exceeded your goals then you may consider upping the ante and pushing yourself a little more. If this is the case, I recommend you stick to reasonable goals of gaining one or two pounds of muscle per week. If you did not make your goals do not be discouraged. It is alright to adjust your goals so that you feel less pressured.
Four Week Plan Troubleshooting Checklist
Are you feeling any excess stress in your life? Are you stressed by your training or diet? Are you getting enough quality rest? Could you fit in a little nap at lunch or in the after noon after work? Are you enjoying your new routine? What can you do to relieve the stress and to make your program more enjoyable? Consider what actions you can do right now to eliminate any stressful situations in your life! Are you following your diet consistently? Are you eating enough protein? Are you getting all the nutrients you require? Are you drinking enough water? Are you training hard enough to stimulate growth? Are you eating enough food? Are you low on energy? Are you eating too much?( Not losing fat or not training fast enough) Are you overtraining?
Your Visual Appearance
This is the one item that 90 percent of people torture themselves in the gym for in the first place so it makes sense to monitor your appearance carefully.
Pictures are a good way to monitor your body improvements but when taking comparison pictures, it is important to take them under the same conditions. Before and after pictures are good examples of pictures taken of the same subject that has not done much more than to change some of the conditions of the subject. For example do you think if you stick out your gut and grow your chest hair out you will look in worse shape? For our purposes accurate assessment is necessary to monitor if true improvement has taken place. This means be careful to keep the following consistent when taking your monthly pictures for your own assessment:
♦ The picture background ♦ Picture lighting ♦ Camera ♦ The distance the picture is taken ♦ Body hair ♦ Tan ♦ Stance ( do not push your gut out for the first picture then suck it in for the second picture) ♦ Poses .Take pictures of the same poses ♦ Pump (do not take your before pictures when you get out of bed and your after pictures when you get out of the gym!)
If you pay attention to the previous details you will have some pictures which will give you an honest assessment of your progress.
Write Down Everything You Put In your Mouth!
As crucial as it is to monitor your physical changes it is just as crucial to monitor your eating habits on a daily basis. As much of a pain as it can be to write down everything you eat, it is very helpful to your progress for the following reasons:
♦ It prevents you from snacking unnecessarily. The little cheat here and there, that you may think does not make much difference, can really add up. ♦ You can look back to see what you ate when you made your greatest progress. This can save you a lot of time in the future. ♦ You can assess your daily eating to make sure you followed your plan. ♦ Troubleshooting is possible .If you are not making progress either losing fat or gaining muscle you can easily make necessary changes. Tips To Enhance Muscle Gain
♦ Never allow yourself to be starved. ♦ Eat right after training. ♦ Eat in the middle of the night if you wake up hungry. ♦ Be a little lazier. ♦ Sleep an extra hour at night take a nap in the afternoon. Be happy do not worry
Appendix E –Muscle Growing Diet Tips
Tip 1: Use your Body’s Insulin to Your Greatest Advantage!
♦ Eat specific types of food high in protein, fiber and fats for energy that do not cause rapid insulin spikes. This reduces the chance of carbohydrates being stored as fat. This would include avoiding grains and sugars to be replaced with high in fiber green vegetables. ♦ Limit simple and complex carbohydrate intake to first meal of the day and after exercise to reduce the chances of insulin storing excess carbohydrates as fat! ♦ Eat carbohydrates only after exercising. Muscles are more insulin sensitive after exercise making this the optimal time to really saturate muscle cells full of glycogen without the risk of fat storage. Muscle cells can store more after exercise which equals larger muscles! ♦ Eat specific food combinations to keep insulin spikes as low as possible for decreased chances of fat storage. The higher the amount of insulin your body is signaled to use, the greater the chances of you getting fat! To keep our bodies burning fat for energy instead of storing it on our waist lines, particular foods known as low glycemic foods are recommended for energy. Combining these foods with fat and protein decreases the chance of storing body fat even more as long as our individual meal portions are not greater than 500 calories. The only meal which it is beneficial to eat more than five hundred calories is after intense exercise.
Tip 2: Maximize Digestion for Quality Mass
Sometimes it does not matter how well you eat. If your meals are not getting digested effectively you are wasting your money and time! I relate this to a million dollar formula one race car that has the highest octane quality gasoline in it, the best mechanics in the world and Michael Schumacher at the wheel! The problem? A fifty dollar fuel pump required to pump the gasoline from the tank to the engine is malfunctioning!
Digestion is the crucial component that will make or break you! Having poor digestion you will get more use out of your foods playing with them than eating them! Using protein as the foundation of your meals, what you combine with your protein is a large factor on how well you will digest your food!
Good digestion determines how much nutrients you can uptake into your bloodstream. The more effective you can assimilate your nutrients from your meals the fewer calories that are needed to meet your daily nutritional requirements. This is certainly important if we are to attempt to gain muscle and lose body fat AT THE SAME TIME. Let’s go through all the steps to ensure we get the most out of what we eat:
1. Do not drink liquids with your food. This only dilutes your digestive enzymes hampering your digestion. Drink at least twenty minutes before eating a meal and wait twenty minutes after. If you find this difficult you are probably not following rule number two… 2. Eat slowly and chew your food well! Getting the most out of your food starts in your mouth as this is ultimately the beginning of the digestive system. Well chewed food with a lot of saliva is what your stomach will thrive on. 3. Use Digestive Enzymes if you over eat or eat bad food combinations. Digestive enzymes may help if you eat over 40 grams of protein or 500 calories at one sitting. 4. Follow the rules of food combining as different foods require different digestive enzymes to break down. For example protein requires a different enzyme than starchy Carbohydrates. 5. Eat fruits separately and count as a food serving. 6. Do not eat unsaturated oils as they inhibit the digestion of protein (see fuels chapter)
7. If you get bad gas from eating fibers like broccoli you can steam these fibrous vegetables as well as eat activated charcoal with your meals. 8. Beans may be soaked overnight before preparing to aid in digestion. 9. A good vitamin will aid in digestion. Vitamin C, E and the B complex nourish the digestive process. 10. To combat bad gas try activated charcoal supplements. 11. Add natural sea salt to your diet to aid in digestion.
Tip 3: Combine Your Foods Strategically For Added Mass
What foods you combine at your meals is one of the most important concepts you need to know to help your body get the nutrients you eat from your stomach to your muscles and not on your waist or out your behind!
If you passed grade seven science classes you may remember doing a little experiment in which you took hydrochloric acid (HCl) and mixed it with sodium hydroxide one of the strongest bases known.
If you were to drink either of these solutions you would die a painful death but mixed together the alkaline solution and the acidic solution combine to neutralize each other forming salt water.
The same goes for proteins and carbohydrates. Protein requires an acid medium to digest where as carbohydrates require an alkaline medium to digest.
When the two are eaten together the acid needed to digest the protein is neutralized and so is the alkaline needed to digest the carbohydrates! Digestion is impaired or arrested completely causing the undigested food mass to cause digestive disorders!
The undigested food becomes a haven for bacteria kind of like the Meal replacement manufacturers Head offices!
Like some of the sick by-products which are released by body builders at the gym, just as you are hyperventilating from doing a heavy set, this undigested food becomes poison playing havoc with the nerves of the digestive tract and the rear end result is constipation gas and sickness!
I have sat in front of a dinner table and experimented for many years with what foods digest well together. In the early days the purpose of my experiments with food combining were based on winning farting contests with the boy out at the farm. He was always tough competition. He was far more sophisticated than just eating beans to prep for a competition! His diet would consist of foods such as Kentucky Fried Chicken with potato salad or chips and pop with ice cream and macaroni and cheese. Cheese bread washed down with Coke or Steak and potatoes with gravy. A Big Mac with fries was always good for a toot, or nearly any combo meal at most fast food restaurants. A bowl of Count Chocula is great if your wife uses a good underwear stain remover!
Food Combining Rules To Accelerate Lean Muscle Gain:
♦ Combine Protein with Fibrous carbohydrates and approved fats ONLY. ♦ Do not eat protein and starches at the same time. ♦ Coconut oil and MCT’s may be combined with protein or starches because of its digestive pathway.
Food Combining Rules for Weight Gain
♦ Eat starches from Approved Starches List earlier in day and after you train. ♦ Add up to four tablespoons of coconut oil per meal.
Tip 4: Accelerate Lean Muscle Gain by Avoiding Hard To Digest Food Combinations
♦ Protein and starch at the same meal (e.g. Steak and potatoes or chicken and rice or meal replacement powders) ♦ Milk and citrus fruits at the same time.(e.g. oranges pineapple, lemons) ♦ Coffee and/or tea with cream or milk is nearly impossible to digest as the milk curdles. I do not recommend coffee for health reasons. ♦ Simple sugars and proteins ♦ Fats and sugars. ♦ Fats and starches
The point about hard to digest food combinations is that they totally go against our main goals of getting the most nutrients out of the least calories!
Tip 5: Maximize Lean Muscle Gain By Avoiding These Top Foods For Getting Fat!
Here is a list of some of the top foods for getting fat just in case you need to know! There are no surprises here but look at what types of foods make you fat and then compare them to what food combinations are hard to digest!
♦ Jelly filled donuts( sugar and starch deep fried) ♦ Regular donuts(10 grams of fat) ♦ Cheese bread ♦ Pizza(two slices 17 grams of fat) ♦ Pasta with Alfredo sauce ♦ Big Mac ♦ Milkshakes ♦ Pancakes with syrup ♦ Pop ♦ Concentrated fruit juices ♦ Commercial fruit juices ♦ Potato chips ♦ Granola(more fat than most hamburgers) ♦ French fries(a large fries has 30 grams of fat) ♦ Weight gain drinks and powders ♦ Cold cereals ♦ Fat free crackers and cookies ♦ Rice cakes( very high glycemic like eating straight sugar) ♦ Deli meats( very high in fat) ♦ Bread and bagels ♦ Regular cheese(acceptable if on The Ketogenesis diet)
If you study this list carefully what type of foods do you notice are responsible for unhealthy weight gain? If you guessed “carbohydrates” you are correct! Carbohydrates are more responsible for unhealthy weight gain (fat) than fat itself! Here is a lesson: just because a label says it is low in fat does not mean that you will not gain fat from eating it!
Tip 6: For Lean Muscle Gain Limit Weight Gain Powders
If you have been around the body building scene you may have used weight gain powders. Yes, the powders you add milk or water to that are made of protein powder and maltodextrin! They sure are known for bulking up including a lot of excess body fat!
Well meal replacement powders are just a new marketing ploy for the same old garbage! The only reason you do not get fat is because instead of containing one thousand to two thousand calories, you do not get as much for your money any more! Meal replacements only contain two hundred and seventy calories!
Not getting fat is the only difference. Meal replacements both the bars and powders are both hard to digest. I will perform studies of this myself someday but I estimate not much more than five to ten percent of the nutrients in these mixtures are used by your body! Otherwise, the little nutritional value available in these products as it is goes right out your behind!
Tip 7: Do Not Worry About Fat, Protein, Carbohydrate Ratios
Protein to Fat to carbohydrate ratios are always changing for the smart athlete. Do you think you need the same amount of carbohydrates after you train as you do before you go to sleep at night? Of course not! Following a strict macronutrient ratio diet plan like The Zone is, for example, is just a plan for diet mediocrity!
Don’t worry about percentages of fat, protein and carbohydrates in your diet. It is unrealistic to monitor these food ratios accurately as certain diets are based on.
According to “the Zone” my ideal breakfast would be half an apple, a quarter of a bagel and two ounces of cheddar cheese! This kind of quackery is worse than some of the olds wives tales I have heard! It is sad that some people will believe anything if a “doctor” writes it!
Here is a formula that I guarantee will bring you results:
♦ Eat your daily requirements of quality protein divided up between the number of meals you eat. ♦ Eat a good source of nutrient dense low calorie fibrous carbohydrate at 90 percent of your meals. ♦ Eat plenty of healthy saturated fats like coconut oil. ♦ Limit your servings of fruits and starches and when you do eat these foods do so separately preferably after exercising.
Following the above plan will supply the protein required to build muscle, supply plenty of energy to fuel your training and keep you lean and healthy with no unnecessary time wasting quackery to deal with! Food
Tip 8: Avoid These Hidden Dangers in Foods That Are Bad For Your Health
Foods that are bad for you may taste good here and there but ultimately stunt your ability to gain lean muscle. How could that be? Well do you ever see too many real muscular cancer victims as they get out of Chemotherapy? Or 250 pound muscular and ripped A.I.D.S victims?
I know this is an extreme example but the truth is you need to be in optimum health to gain lean muscle. And for an explosive growth spurt health is the number one most important thing! Avoid these unhealthy crappy foods to really support an explosive growth spurt!
Hydrogenated fats (Trans - fatty acids)
Eating hydrogenated fats (Trans - fatty acids) is comparable to smoking cigarettes on your arteries! Maybe you do not smoke, but you may be incurring similar negative and harmful side effects on your arteries by eating lots of deep fried foods! This includes donuts, French Fries Calamari, onion rings, etc. This stuff wouldn’t even taste good to you if you knew how long the grease it is cooked in has been used for. Have you ever walked by the ventilation system of a deep fryer? I did by accident and nearly threw up!
A good friend of mine happens to be one of the top chefs in the metropolis I live in. One of the reasons he doesn’t eat at most restaurants is because instead of changing the grease in their deep fryers every day, to save money and hassle, most restaurants change the grease every 30 DAYS!!!. Even fresh, the heat makes these oils just plain toxic. Don’t be fooled by some restaurants and fast food chains claiming to use only vegetable oil. It’s never good if it is deep fried! Deep fried foods like French fries are a high source of trans-fatty acids which are linked to increase LDL (low density lipoprotein or bad cholesterols) and reduce HDL (high density lipoprotein or “good” cholesterols).
Other foods to avoid which are high in trans-fatty acids are: Margarine Meal replacement bars Commercial Pastries, cookies and cakes Chocolate bars Commercial meal replacement drinks and powders. Shortenings Spreads
Stay Away From Refined Foods
What is eating refined? White refined flour based foods make me question the definition of refined! These modern foods are just plain garbage. Refining flour was a process used to prolong shelf life as even bugs won’t eat it! Bugs need nutrition just as we do. Here is a list of diseases closely associated with the consumption of White refined flour: Heart disease Strokes Colon cancer Appendicitis Diverticulitis Diverticulitis Chronic constipation Hemorrhoids Varicose veins Clots in veins Hiatus hernia Gallstones Peptic ulcer Obesity
Become accustomed to eating more greens and vegetables instead.
Avoid White Sugar and other sugars including Fructose
White refined sugar is the leading cause of degenerative disease in our modern day society. Sugar taken every day in processed foods produces a continuously over-acidic condition in your body, requiring more and more vitamins and minerals from deep in your body attempting to rectify the balance.
After years of having this continual, over-acidic condition, as well as vitamin/ mineral depletion, it is highly unlikely that some form of degenerative disease will not present itself. During the process of continuous sugar consumption, especially with today’s processed foods, excess sugar is stored in the liver in the form of glucose until the full capacity of the liver to do so is reached. Do you know that your liver can only hold enough glycogen for about a days worth of energy?
During this process, the liver becomes somewhat enlarged, and excess glucose is returned to the blood in the form of fatty acids, which are stored in the inactive muscular areas of the body. This is everywhere that people gain weight (stomach, buttocks, breasts, thighs, etc).
When these areas have been filled to capacity, the fatty acids are then sent to organs (heart, kidneys, etc), which causes them to begin a process of degeneration.
Abnormal blood pressure begins to occur, the brain functions are affected, the structural quality of the cellular structures within the blood decline, an overabundance of white cells occurs, creation of new tissue declines, and the immune system is affected. Need I say anymore?
Limit Dairy Products
Histaminic (allergic) reactions are common to most dairy products causing side effects such as runny nose and itchy skin. The main problem with milk that concerns us is the fact that milk is mistaken as a protein source. Milk, in fact, has a greater percentage of its macronutrients coming from carbohydrates.
There are two problems with milk in regards to getting fat. First it is high in carbohydrates. The second is that milk by nature of its composition is hard to digest. It is difficult to digest because it is a bad food combination of protein and carbohydrates. There is also the concern for some races (such as African Americans, Chinese, Eskimos and Hispanics) regarding lactose intolerance.
Avoid Aspartame Like S.A.R.S.!
The most dangerous substance being added to food is quite a statement to make about aspartame. Let’s look into the chemical make up of aspartame and see what could be so bad about supposedly a couple of amino acids… Aspartame is made up of three chemicals:
1. Aspartic acid 40% 2. Phenylalanine 50% 3. Methanol (wood alcohol) 10%
Methanol is very poisonous though it is found in some fruit juices as well as alcoholic beverages. However whenever methanol is present in fruit juices or alcohol the antidote ethanol is also present usually in much higher quantities (5 to 500,000 times more)
The Environmental Protection Agency defines safe consumption as no more than 7.8 milligrams per day of this dangerous substance. A one-liter beverage, sweetened with aspartame, contains about 56 milligrams of wood alcohol, or eight times the EPA limit! Why is it all of a sudden safe at these exorbitant levels when consumed in a profitable soft drink? Ethanol slows the bodies’ absorption of methanol allowing the body to clear the toxin through the lungs and kidneys before toxic levels are reached (1, 2) There is no ethanol in aspartame to negate the poisoning effects of methanol. As well methanol is converted by the body into formaldehyde, the stuff you preserved the frog in the jar in biology class in high school!
Now it has been argued that Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are two amino acids bound to proteins in many foods and this is true but the difference with aspartame is the aspartic acid and phenylalanine are not bound to proteins. Therefore the absorption is very fast causing a rapid rise in blood plasma levels of these amino acids.
The problem with this is that the central nervous system is affected by being bombarded so quickly by these abnormally high levels of aspartic acid and phenylalanine resulting in the following:
Headaches Migraines Seizures Numbness Weight gain Depression Hypothalamus damage Insomnia Joint pain Breathing difficulties Heart palpitations Fatigue Muscle spasms Nausea
Lowered sex drive Less sexual pleasure.
Now I know that many body builders just simply do not honestly care about supposed health risks if it means compromising getting bigger or leaner. Really, if someone is so desperate as to inject synthol or MCT oil into their muscles to risk brain aneurisms to look bigger, then really why would you stop drinking aspartame because of the symptoms listed above?
Aspartame May Lower Testosterone Levels!
Well if you look closely at those symptoms you will notice weight gain and hypothalamus damage. Let’s first address the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus produces Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GRH). The GRH causes the pituitary then to produce gonadotropin. Gonadotropin stimulates the testicles causing the production of testosterone. When you're causing hypothalamic destruction with NutraSweet you're suppressing the production of male hormones! (James Bowen M.D. Feb 2000)
Aspartame promotes unhealthy weight gain!
In a cruel and ironic twist, aspartame may actually cause you to gain fat! Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, found in aspartame, stimulate the release of insulin by stimulating a brain response to sweet taste. This response is known as the “cephalic brain response” and has been documented clearly with animals in lab settings. Rapid, strong spikes in insulin remove all glucose from the blood-stream and store it as fat. This can result in hypoglycemia and cravings for sweets! Additionally, it has been demonstrated that Aspartame inhibits carbohydrate-induced synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Inhibition of serotonin leads to food cravings, increased carbohydrate consumption and, ultimately, weight gain.
1. Oppermann, J.A., Muldoon, E. and Ranney, R.E., Metabolism of Aspartame in Monkey. J. Nutr., 103:1454-1459 (1973). 2. Seale Aspartame Petition. Document No.: MRC-751-0022 (E-92).Methanol Metabolism in the Monkey, Mol. Pharmacol., 4:471-483, (1963) National Cancer Institute Cancer Statistics Review 1973-87. Bethesda, N111 Pub. No. 89-2789 Roberts, H.J.; Does Aspartame Cause Human Brain Cancer?. Journal of Advancements in Medicine. Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 1991 W.C. Monte, Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health. Journal of Applied Nutrition, Vol. 36, No. 1, 1984. P.J. Shaw, Excitatory amino acid receptors, excitotoxicity, and the human nervous system. Current Opinion in Neurology and Neurosurgery 1993, 6:414-422 UK T.J. Maher and R.J. Wurtman, Possible Neurologic Effects of Aspartame, a Widely Used Food Additive. Environmental Health Perspectives. Vo. 75, p. 53-57, 1987. M.E. Drake, Panic Attacks and Excessive Aspartame Ingestion. p. 631 The Lancet, Sept. 13, 1986 Congressional Record, Senate. Saccharin Study and Labeling Act Amendments of 1985. May 7,m 1985, p. S5489-5516 Congressional Record Senate. Aspartame Safety Act of 1985. August 1, 1985, p. S10820-10847 Ishu, II: Incidence of brain tumors in rats fed aspartame. Toxicol Letters 1981, 7:433-437. R.G. Walton, Seizure and Mania after high intake of aspartame. Psychomatics, 1986; 27:218-220 R.J. Wurtman, E.R.Walker, Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function, MIT Press May, 1988. D. Remington, B. Higa, The Bitter truth About Artificial Sweeteners. Vitality House Press, 1987 H.J. Roberts, Aspartame, NutraSweet. Is It Safe? The Charles Press, December 1989. B.A. Mullarkey, Bittersweet Aspartame, A Diet Delusion. NutriVoice, Inc. ISBN 0-944366--00-7 1992. 65 pgs. Excitotoxins ... The Taste That Kills - Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. Health Press, Santa Fe, N.M. 1994 - ISBN 0-929173-14-7 - $29.95
Avoid Acesulfame –K
I remember back in 1995 when I still wanted to believe in supplements I went into one of the local bodybuilding supplement stores and mentioned my concerns with Aspartame. My friend who owns the shop sought to help me out by telling me about another sweetener called Acesulfame-K. He assured me that it was safe and did not have the questionable reputation of safety that aspartame had. So I took his advice and purchased the protein powder with the Acesulfame-K instead. I am sure there are a few of you out there that have done the same as I did back then! Well let me tell you what I have learned about Acesulfame-K in the meantime! There is inadequate testing done on the safety of Acesulfame-K Tests on animals have scientifically proven Acesulfame-K to cause cancer I do not see any benefit to using this sweetener until it has been proven to have no side effects in humans. There are many other safe diet alternatives.
Avoid Eating Aluminum
Now I know that you do not eat aluminum straight, but do you eat table salt from a shaker at most restaurants? What about all the foods that you eat with added salt? What about the table salt at your home? Sodium silicoaluminate and/or aluminum calcium silicate are added to common table salt to help it run freely and not cake. The anti-caking agent in table salt prevents it from dissolving in water and fluids within our bodies, resulting in a build-up and formation of salt deposits in our organs and tissues. This can cause severe health problems and high blood pressure, as our bodies are not equipped to handle large amounts of sodium. Healthy individuals can tolerate some excess sodium if it is in a naturally occurring form that our bodies can readily use or excrete. Predictably, the average American who uses refined salt is overdosed on sodium, consuming between 5000 and 6000 mg of sodium per day with the RDA being less than 2400 mg per day. Use natural sea salt instead! Natural sea salts are an essential electrolyte and do not contain the artificially added aluminums used to aid in sifting. I refuse to eat products that have regular salt in them! This includes health food products at the health store. You can bet to make a better profit margin most companies and restaurants use industrial salt. Make sure you look at the products you eat so that any products that contain salt specifically state “sea salt” in the ingredients!
Eliminate the following products from your diet which contain aluminums!
Food additives Processed cheese White flour
For most people, the greatest aluminum intake comes from food additives. Sodium aluminum phosphate is an emulsifier in processed cheese; potassium aluminum is used to whiten flour. If you use underarm anti-perspirants, you are coating your armpits with aluminum which will be absorbed into your body.
Tip 9: If You Are Sensitive To MSG Avoid The Following Proteins
If you have a known problem with MSG or want to avoid it, here is a list of proteins that have MSG which most people are not aware of! Soy protein isolate (used to take away beany taste) Soy protein concentrate Whey protein concentrate Hydrolyzed protein Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
I challenge you to try and abstain from the previous list of toxins for at least six months and see if you feel the difference! I promise you that you will! If you do not have more energy and an overall feeling of well-being, the only reason I think is that you are still eating some types of hidden toxins! You WILL feel the difference! So your health will be much deeper than what you physically look like. Your health will be a true source of healthiness from within! You will definitely notice the difference, I am absolutely sure of it!
Appendix F: Master Your Mind Power For Maximum Results In Record Time!
The Steps To Getting There Equal The Qualities Of Being There…
Now that you have created a desire for yourself and know what has hindered your past efforts it is time to clarify your desire. Mastering your mind power is all about focus! It is about knowing what to focus on as well!
In order for you to accomplish anything, like accomplishing The Detailed Physique, it is crucial to know what that is. I am not talking generalizations here. In order to reach your goal as quickly as possible you need to know the qualities of what you are trying to achieve. Once you really know those details it is time to really make it your own!
Visualize Your Success!
Visualize your self and get comfortable with this new you in your mind and heart, by seeing, feeling and being this new you. To break it down in a different manner, there are three steps to really becoming this new you as quickly as possible.
Visualize Visualize Visualize!
Step 1 Know all the details enough to have a life-like visualization. What will you look like? How will you stand? How will your posture be when you have this new confidence? Imagine the facial expression you may have as this new you! Get creative look at others as examples that you look up to! I encourage you to find a mentor and study his or her behaviors! Visualize Your Success!
Feel Your Success!
Step 2 Feel like you are this new you by putting some passion and excitement into it. Ask yourself how would you feel if you had your detailed physique now? Then feel that way! How does your mentor feel about him or herself? Involve all your senses in these feelings! Imagine smells, touching items, and tasting in your visions. I do not mean what your armpits would smell like when you have your Detailed Physique although I cannot really rule this out!
Be the New You!
Step 3 The third step is to be this new you! Put some physical action into it! Pretend you look like your ideal physique and act out your visions! You may not be comfortable doing all these new actions today in front of people so start in private like an actor rehearsing his scenes! This will help make it real for you so that the power of your will becomes more tangible.
The universe works in the most efficient means possible and although you may seem like you are straying off the path you had imagined, if you can keep the essence of your vision (the qualities of being there) your life will soon reflect this.
This is where your faith comes in! Just because it may seem like you have run into a road block or an unforeseen challenge keep practicing the three steps I mentioned and have faith! A good example of this is recently I had a car accident that injured me fairly seriously. I had to cease my workouts because my shoulders lower back, knees and right hip were injured too badly and I was faced with rotator cuff surgery and lower back pains for the rest of my life! This is not to mention the aches and pains of my lower back so unbearable I had a sciatic nerve pinching pain all the way to my toes! My god I thought, “How am I going to launch my new book if I look like the guy who got sand kicked in his face from The Charles Atlas advertisement?” Who will take heed of my advice if I do not practice what I preach and look the part?
This was very disturbing to me and I tried to workout again but it was to no use. I was just injuring myself worse at this time. I felt very frustrated and depression hit! This is a circumstance where instead of feeling sorry for myself I had to practice mentally the above three steps of visualizing myself back in shape to save my life. Although I had lost thirty pounds of hard earned muscle and put on about ten pounds of pure ugly fat! I continued to pretend I was in shape and looked forward to how good my before and after pictures would now look!
I started researching more in different areas as a result of my injury (like shoulder training) and how to reach my goals again without the use of risky heavy weights. I learned a lot more about chemicals in the diet and their effect on metabolism. I basically kept writing my book and the time off helped me to see a larger perspective than just putting on muscle and losing fat! It made me a more rounded individual than I probably would have been if it wasn’t for my forced layoff!
Do not get trapped into focusing on the goal itself-- instead focus on the essence of what achievement will bring!
To truly succeed follow the above methods for feeling the essence of what it is like to be living your goals. Try to focus on the feelings associated with achieving the goals rather than the material gain of the goal. For example having a good healthy body gives me a feeling of peace of mind that I am healthy and going to live a long joyful life! I feel more confidence in myself when I am meeting others or performing vigorous labor! (I do not perform labor very often!) I feel a sense of overall well-being when I am healthy! I feel more secure with myself etc. It is the feelings I get from achieving or striving to achieve my fitness goals that are worth more to me than the material gain of the goal.
Glossary of Terms
Aerobic- Aerobic is anything which increases oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic exercise is a low intensity longer duration exercise like cycling.
Anaerobic- Anaerobic is reactions which do not require oxygen to occur. Weight lifting although it increases heart rate and breath rate is an anaerobic activity because the muscle tissue has anaerobic metabolisms.
Antioxidants- Compounds at the cellular level which combat free radicals to reduce oxidization of the body tissues.
Barbell – A free weight apparatus consisting of a long bar with plates added to each end for resistance. Used in exercises like barbell Bench Press, Biceps Curls and Squats where two hands are required to hold the bar.
Calories- A unit for measuring the energy provided by foods.
Carbohydrates - Any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually in the ratio 1:2:1
Carbing up – Carbing up is the practice of depleting your body of carbohydrates then systematically loading up again. The theory is if you exercise and eat the proper types of carbohydrates you can store more than you could originally by tricking the muscle cell in a deprived carbohydrate state.
Cholesterol – A substance found in animal tissues and various foods that is normally synthesized by the liver and is important as a constituent of cell membranes and a precursor to steroid hormones. Its level in the bloodstream can influence certain conditions, such as the development of atherosclerotic plaque and coronary artery disease. There are two types of cholesterol HDL, the good cholesterol, and LDL, the bad cholesterol.
Compound Exercises - Compound exercises require more than one muscle group to perform. These types of exercises are excellent for building mass and training more muscles in less time.
Cycle – Training phases last one cycle. A cycle determines the length of a training phase. There are three different training cycles depending on your level of fitness. The harder you can train the more advanced of a cycle you follow. The more advanced a cycle the more recuperation time between workouts.
Dumbbell – A free weight made up of a short handle consisting of plates on each side for resistance. One hand is required to use a dumbbell.
Glycemic Index - The glycemic index is a useful tool that measures how fast a particular food is likely to raise your blood sugar. Pure glycogen has a rating of 100 and raises blood sugar levels very quickly. The lower the number the slower the particular food breaks down. Foods high on the glycemic index are good for post –workout foods to replenish blood sugars rapidly. High glycemic foods are also more likely to be stored as fat. Lower glycemic foods are a better choice throughout the day for sustained energy and less likely to be stored as fat.
Glucose – Glucose is the major source of energy for your body. Carbohydrates are metabolized into glucose by your body. Any excess glucose is converted to glycogen and stored in your liver or fatty acids and stored as fat!
Glycogen- The main form of carbohydrates stored by the body that is readily converted to glucose to supply energy to the muscles.
Hyperthyroidism- An over productive thyroid gland that is producing abnormally high amount of thyroid hormones compared to the accepted average.
Hypothyroidism- An abnormally slow thyroid compared to the average human measured by the amounts of thyroid hormone being produced.
Isolation Exercises – Isolation exercises require only one muscle group to perform. These types of exercises are great for specializing on weak muscles. Examples of isolation exercises are Leg Extensions and Preacher Curls.
Macronutrient – A term for the groups of nutrients that include protein, carbohydrate and fat.
Micronutrient – A term for the individual vitamins or minerals your body requires .E.g. Vitamin C is a micronutrient.
Oxidation – The act or process of adding oxygen. The addition of oxygen has negative effects to the human body which have shown responsible for degenerative disease.
Phase - Each method of training is called a training phase. For example when you are doing drop sets you are in the drop set training cycle. When you are doing rest pause training you are in the rest pause training phase. Each phase is lasts for one cycle. Then the next type of training phase begins.
Repetition- A repetition is one full cycle of an exercise movement. For example if you performed 10 repetitions of leg extensions you have completed ten full cycles of raising the weight to completely contract your thighs fully then lowering the weight to the starting position.
Set- A set is a group of repetitions performed together with no break between. For example to perform three sets of 10 repetitions of biceps curls you would perform ten full repetitions of curling the weight from the start position to the fully contracted position then back to the start position again ten times then take a short break. Repeat the process again two more times to equal three sets. Standing Heart Rate- Standing heart rate is your hearts beats per minute when you are well rested or have not done any type of movement for a little while. It is your heart rate when you have been sitting around watching a movie or doing no physical activity.
Superset- Two exercise movements performed one after another with as little rest as possible.
Supinate-To turn or rotate (the hand or forearm) so that the palm faces up or forward.
Warm up Set(s) - The first set(s) of an exercise performed for a body part solely to warm up the muscle(s) to prepare for injury free intense training. Warm up sets are not for stimulating muscle growth rather just to prevent injury.
Working Set(s) - The last set(s) performed for an exercise after the muscle is thoroughly warmed up. These sets are the ones that are monitored carefully to increase work loads every workout.